from bowleys wharf
a whoosh of steam and shaft and water churning
the first of five million pulses
chugging in the rhythm and patience of pistons
from patapsco to susquehanna to elk to sassafras
to chester to miles to choptank to honga
to nanticoke to wicomoco to pocomoke to james
to york to plankatank to rappahannock to yacomoco
to potomac to patuxent to severn to magothy
five generations of machine and human
amalgamating anthroestuary into analog.
relatively innocent in plying the water
sunrise and morning
midday and afternoon
evening and sunset
through the hours of darkness.
polished steamboats once emanating from the patapsco
in tide-like rhythm
