American Hades

by Mike Foldes

We was scammed.
30 years working
at the bottom of the well
in the oil-thick fluid drive
of American Hades,
where newcomers start
at the bottom, societal
recruits, plebes, and
pledges, scummies
seeing the rise to the top
as a struggle, but always
with hope, and an eye
to the light above.

We was scammed,
The light got brighter,
came at us faster
… for a while it seemed
the muck was thinner,
the surface nearer,
and with lungs aching
for the oxygen
we workers, schooled
in appropriate behavior,
moved more quickly
in the fashion of herds
toward the light above.

We was scammed.
The surface seemed nearer,
the light seemed brighter,
uncertainty went the way
of memory, fading as if
what made those memories
never did exist, and the whorl
of anticipation carried
days to extremes where
dreams are extinguished.
Where the last race
is the next race, but with
no time to train.