Love Canal

And so it used to be
that one Roebling
took another
a thief.
What once the realm of kings
and conquerors was,
today: city -
planning.
Mother Brook
once no longer safe after dark
is no longer safe.
Koschey walks the waterside paths,
even now as the eighteen-wheelers
and business suits ply their trade,
speaking:
This town ain't even got a skyline,
why should I?
Graffiti-camouflaged,
his minions stand
unaware of the creeping menace,
a flanking vanguard of picket-signs,
and non-commissioned school teachers.
A lot can happen in the city
in a dead afternoon.
And the chemical colors,
bronze and crimson and gunmetal,
change with the speed
the acceleration,
because all of this
all of it
is just about getting somewhere
else
and when we reached the end,
we already knew where to go next
(but we'll never tell.)