Eagle County, Colorado

The Gilman mine's been closed for years.
The Eagle River's clear again, its boulders
Back to basic gray from rusty tailings
Red. The toxic ponds below the Climax
Mine are slowly being drained, and Red Cliff
Doesn't smell like coal from locomotives
Puffing by. No one logs the mountainsides.
The old hard ways and isolation long are gone,
And most of those who lived those ways have
Died. The land's been tidied up for tourists
Coming up from Denver to their million-dollar
Mountain homes to ski, to ride their bicycles,
And all is well. The dining's fine. Someone
Who skis or golfs too much can quickly get
A good massage. The ways aren't hard.
They're just expensive, and the kids of those
Who used to wrest their livings from this
Land, fiercely proud, titanic people, stay,
Diminished, struggling to live on servants' pay.



Poetry by Lawrence Beck The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 75 times
Written on 2017-08-07 at 16:31

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