Well Drillers

I recognize the goodness

of your sturdy strength

and your willingness

to get completely dirty

and to muscle the heavy equipment

into the ground,

your endurance

and your experience

and the way you signal to each other

above the motor’s din and through your earplugs

and you both know

what you need to do

The joy in this shows through

like the brightness of your eyes

in mud-spattered faces,

and how you hold yourselves

after the heat of the day

and the hours of work,

fortified instead of slumped by labor.

©Wendy Mulhern

September 11, 2015