Christian County, Illinois

In midsentence. Like a pregnant sow

in another mud- and mire-laden trench,

your hay-stuffed midland rests. In mid-crossing:

a locomotive humming through a hymn

on Sunday morning. This is west of Eden.

Vacant field, vacant lots,

and elms holding back the wind.

Across the river, along the same tracks

edging a field of pinwheel turbines: a factory

erupting steadily through the night. And the bungalows

under its shadow foreclosed, forsaken. And still—

a Walmart opens!

The train whistle cuts clear—the moon

abandons its post—and the cold

digs deep into the bones of each who enter.

To take their place along the line.