Article voiceover
* Alternate photos and another villanelle for paid subscribers everyone
[unpaywalled as of January 2025]
Out on the ridge line underneath the wind That blew the clouds into the rising sun, I made my rounds to see what I could find. I was a lineman called to check the bend Of voltage where the lines were getting thin Out on the ridge line underneath the wind. A report of conductor gallop where they spanned From tower numbers six and eight and ten Meant I would have to see what I could find. So I drove the bucket truck out to the end Of highway eighty-two to put it in Out on the ridge line underneath the wind. The lines weren't dancing hard enough to mind So I parked and watched the dawn as it began. I'd made my rounds and reported what I found. The wind kept pushing the gold-laced clouds around. The sun came up, its power on my skin Out on the ridge line underneath the wind. I drove away to see what else I'd find.
Brings back memories of Glen Cambell’s Wichita Lineman.
Gold laces and dancing lines.. power of the sun and the imagined surging of electricity above. This was woven, I think, not written.