Goaled Miners

The dark of the hole, the hole in the ground,
the shuffling of feet, work week after week;
the hole in the earth goes endlessly down.
Weak, getting weaker; the strong, getting weak,

the canary has broken the tip of
its beak in rattling its cage. “Get me out!”
it seems to suggest in its rage; “Above
is where air is, so why are we here?” shout

the voices of miners, muffled in fear.
For they need to pay rent, so they dig holes,
lungs filled with dust harvest future smog-smear.
But these jobs must end, for all men have souls:

Working in air, in the sight of the trees,
Let’s retrain coal-miners to work with bees!

May 5th, 2020

by James S. Dwyer

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Image credits

beekeeper: https://bangordailynews.com/2019/10/20/homestead/meet-this-7-year-old-beekeeper-whose-passion-for-her-hobby-matches-that-of-any-experienced-adult/

coal miners: https://theconversation.com/black-lungs-back-how-we-became-complacent-with-coal-miners-pneumoconiosis-57718

coal: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/commentisfree/2019/sep/24/australia-has-dodged-global-attention-on-fossil-fuels-because-of-assiduous-diplomatic-efforts

honeycomb: https://www.fluxmagazine.com/honey-based-products/