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Power house mechanic working on steam pump
photo by Lewis Hine, 1920.
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Vespers
In the foundry men made engine blocks
ate dirt
ate sand
made fire
Henry Ford was the captain
and his word was law
when a shift was done there was a roll call
to see who was alive and who was dead
I was one of a thousand production workers
a name not ready to be noticed
a sideman
I who had not yet imagined water or trees
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“Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting.”
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John Stupp’s third poetry collection.Pawleys Island was published in 2017 by Finishing Line Press. His manuscript Summer Job won the 2017 Cathy Smith Bowers Poetry Prize and will be published in 2018 by Main Street Rag. He lives near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From 1975-1985 he worked professionally as a mediocre jazz guitarist.
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Nat Adderley, with Wes Montgomery, Bobby Timmons, Percy Heath and Sam Jones, plays “Work Song” from the 1960 Riverside album .Work Song
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