The Dragline

THE DRAGLINE for Pete Brett One hundred foot boom 7-½-yard bucket The tracks are like Ones on the tracks of a tank They go chunk clunk and clank Arm of the boom swings Far to the left then to right Out casts the bucket And drags the rock in Papa pushes the pedals and Pulls the leavers Lifts the cranes bucket and Swings the arm in Dumps the rock into A pile at quarry Just old black Burt, Bootsie and me We ride in the donkey a brawny little engine Careful now Uncle Burt I ‘am heavy as can be He’d chuckle and let me ring the dingy As the donkey pulled all those gondola cars to the rock crusher A ring ding-a-ling here comes the train ring ding-a-ling, ding-a-ling Dinner would be with Uncle Red Papa and me by the railroad tracks a fire warm and perhaps we would see Alligator Willy who would stop by to share some pickled eggs, sausages and a beer I dance in the night by the light that comes from cranes rear window the light that shines from the top of the boom My stage is a beam of square light and I dance and I swirl as the beam from the top boom does swing. It’s better than the light from the moon I spin and I dance in an out of The shadows I see my papa’s face Through the crane’s side window’s panel His arm is out stretched as he Pushes and pulls I wave I am tired now He jumps from the tracks and Lifts me back in His face has wide goofy grin We share chocolate milk From a thermos and take Orange marmalade Sandwiches wrapped in wax paper which were sticky and sweet from his Old battered Lunch Pail when my feet were all wet He took off my shoes and placed them by Old Mr. Murphy as his engine was called Dry and warm and cozy we’d be Papa his dog Bootsie and me Northwest the crane that he ran At Seminole Rock he was considered the best Crane operator-man He worked from dark tell the sand-man I sleep in an empty dynamite crate Filled with a string called waste Used to spread thick grease by the big diesel engine at the back of the crane He shuts the doors as it’s starting to rain The crane growls and grumbles and rocks me to and fro like in a large giant’s lap as I take a nap in dreams I spin and I dance by the light from the boom it’s better than the light from the moon