sierra nevada

sierra nevada see
air over nevada
serrated novena
snow sloughed redoubt

quartz veins in diorite
and granite, vanity
goes viral for gold
blast rock haul ore

or give up. for it is
written it shall be
hidden, gold generally
hides in specific gravity

gravely. washo and maidu
watched euro-waves crash
flash in the pans & rockers
sheer face of bluffs onlooked


hans ostrom 2018

Abandoned Gold Mine

(image: gold-miners in Colorado)

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Abandoned Gold Mine

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In the mine, looking at gray

mud-and-stone leaking water,

you realize the folly of digging

a hole in a mountain and hoping

the hole will suspend the mountain

above you. You look at rusted

iron tracks and the one ore-core

no one stole yet. This is a morose,

dank space--an intrusion, a bad idea,

but, Oh Lord, a product of long hard

labor. In the mine, you see evidence

of work, engineering, zeal, folly, ingenuity,

and mystery. You, too, want to stay

longer than you should--imagining;

listening to granite, diorite, and quartz

mutter. What you don't see is evidence

of wealth, which was created by what

was extracted but not for ones who

extracted. The air you breathe is bad.

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Copyright 2009 Hans Ostrom