For Daniel J. Evans

I took a job at the Talen Energy Corporation

of Allentown, PA. I’m now a Nuclear Plant

Operator in Training.

I walk to work. On front lawns, sidewalks,

and the freeway (for only one exit), onto open field;

I walk to work. And as I do, the wool gathers.

And images of Daniel J. Evans 

and the Douglas Firs come back.

Already step printed. Like thinned oil paint.

I took this job because I had a two year associate's degree

in Applied Sciences. And I did not wish to join the Navy.

And I needed a change of scenery. Allentown was bought by the Quakers

for hats with buckles, needles, 

rum, and horses.

I carried a Weber Grill on my back to the field near the Nuclear Power Plant

where I work as an Operator

in Training. In the evenings I will cook

for other Operators in Training. We will pull cans of soda and beer out

from the holes I have dug into the ground, deep into the ground, and talk

about how we’re finding working at Talen. I will ask for a ride home.

Or I will sleep in the field. Or I will walk and dream. Walk and dream of Olympia.