Springtime in Kentucky

Sean Corbin

We live in the ruts
between crops
of coal and timber.

When it rains
we poor
ones float
in sewage lagoons
flecked with
laundry and tires.

Students kayak
to final exams.

Helicopters
fly overhead,
shooting pornography
with news cameras
for city perverts.

We hold out
for the best
bottled water
Nestle can spare.

When the waters recede,
we go back to hoeing rows
so the trucks can pass through
like buffalo herds.