Seth Copeland

Greer County Fade

a new bridge hangs over the Salt Fork’s
brittle dry
                                                past Mangum
bluegray siltstone banding the shale

to Granite and discipline   the edge of the range
raggedy gabbros        a state reformatory’s
                                                chalky bones

exposed under an arrested sky

975 inmates                            it goes on
Main Street stares up Headquarters Mountain
and the mountain ignores its empty storefronts

                                                on the outskirts

dung scent                              meth fire
abandoned quarries full of murder
missile silos
on someone’s property
conflict privately owned

same as before

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Seth Copeland lives, teaches and studies in the Milwaukee metro. He is the author of Plug in the Mountain (Yavanika Press, 2023) and his work has appeared in Dream Pop, Yes Poetry, Drunk Monkeys, Datableed and Heavy Feather Review, among others. He edits petrichor and Cream City Review.