baltimore slave clipper

swimming and flying
weaving ocean and wind into a jet stream,
wood and canvass
carved into an arrow hurtling with its bow,
constantly propelled.
swift upon another swifter away in battle.
carrying cargo with express and beauty.
finally refitted for slave transport.
just a rotting rusting weapon

rigging at sunrise
(as world trade required larger shipping vessels in the 19th century, baltimore clippers were repurposed and retrofitted to specialize in transporting slaves and contraband)

liberty of the federal republican

silence is treason
and axes, hooks, and other instruments of destruction
have their own noise.
democracy sings
and beating, stabbing, and hot wax
discharge neuromuscular tension.
demagogues gluttons subalterns
trump distinction.
general stricker is not at home, cannot be seen, would do no more

on gay street at sunrise
(in 1812 the federal republican newspaper was destroyed for publishing anti-war commentary)

concerning crimes and punishments

in a labor-scarce economy
for violations upon the lives, liberties or property, of others
in response to public outrage at the spectacle of convicts laboring on roads
solitary confinement, common silence, and hard labor.
operated profitably

penitentiary at sunrise
(in 1804 the baltimore penitentiary was erected on madison street for confinement and labor as an alternative to public and degrading punishment)

risingest town

warehouses around the water
tobacco and snuff
wheat and corn and flour and bread
sugar and rum
iron
paper and wool
oak and poplar and mahogany and spruce
tar and turpentine
orange juice and coconuts
rice and cotton
fish and furs and skins
pork and beef and butter and cheese
beeswax and candles
nails and boots and assembling ships.
baltimore bricks

warehouse at sunrise
(in 1799 almost 200 warehouses were clustered around the harbor)