Two Nature Poems

James F. Lewis
ENGL 550
April 10th, 2007
Deconstructing Nature Through Poetry: Two Poems


Metrosystem

Stepping onto the subway, the exhalation of smokestacks;
the railcar jarring underneath your feet.

Lights illuminating skyscrapers;
the flow of vehicles at rush hour;
traffic waking in the morning.

In the corner of the harbor,
by the dock amidst Styrofoam cups,
bass rising to the surface.

A yellow sweatshirt;
a bobbing Nike basketball shoe beside the wood piling;
gas trickling out of a motor;
an oily iridescent surface and water spouting from a bilge.

Night, and the aroma of steak and browned potatoes,
wafting into the alleys, into the streets.
Behind dumpsters, rats, and men huddled by the fire.

The 767 on the runway;
the freighter to sea.
At dawn, I am fishing.