Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, DESERTED DERRICK, by MARY ELIZABETH BRANTLEY


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DESERTED DERRICK, by            
First Line: Towering high above oil-stained lands
Last Line: That cast its rays upon the derrick in an early year.
Subject(s): Petroleum; Ruins; Wells; Oil


Towering high above oil-stained lands,
A rotting wooden structure stands.
From the rude frame platform above
A great iron cable limply hangs,
Its lower end pulled loose from
The broken concrete base.
Halfway to the ground a splintered ladder
Sways. It makes a hollow clatter
When the wind comes in wild fury,
Darkened by the gritty sand,
Swirled from regions to the northwest --
And casts a veil of dust, obliterating space.
The slush-pit, once filled with black waste oil,
Is but a mass of heavy sinking tar;
And where the shanty tool-house once stood near,
Now lies a heap of blackened wood.
But over the forgotten tower there shines the same bright star
That cast its rays upon the derrick in an early year.





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