and then the chimneys fell

and then the chimneys fell

and then the chimneys fell,

one by one by the ton of

ancient soot billowing applause

from the lads in the sidings 

wagoned in trammelled bravado.

some by explosive nostalgia,

some by pick and prop and fire 

and hope for the tugged heart strings,

bricked in piles, taking the stacks

down brick by brick, upending the past.

so now they are gone.

the boys and the men the boys

planned to grow into the furnaces 

of the old testament, in the black book

of the psalms, of sadness long chanted,

and now, finally, the grime on the headstones

of the past falls away.

take the long path to the reed beds

resurgent where the water coolers 

towered. where the slag tips glowered.

give the children their ponds, their 

tadpoles, and finally, again finally,

let sleep take the day away. let us

use the chimney bricks to lay a

road away from the past, and through

the windows of our eyes, espy

everlasting ...