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
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