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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


DEATH AT WORK by JAMES GALVIN

Poem Explanation Poet Analysis

First Line: A CHEVY ENGINE HANGS BY A CHAIN
Last Line: With everyone afraid and trying not to be
Subject(s): DEATH; LABOR & LABORERS; DEAD, THE; WORK; WORKERS;

A Chevy engine hangs by a chain
From a limb of the spreading ponderosa.

The toolshed smells of stale blood
And is padlocked.

Trying not to be afraid explains everything.

A riding boot slit down both seams
Lolls behind the open door.

The rising sun peeks under cloud cover
@3As if for purposes of identification@1
And then disappears for the day.

Hush now,
I promise not to tell any stories
With everyone afraid and trying not to be.


Used with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, P.O. Box 271, Port Townsend, WA
98368-0271, www.cc.press.org



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