After Donald Keefe’s Lightwell (Au Sable Forks Papermill) (2016)

Even with light beaming through
the stilted arch like erasure,

the old mill calls out
its name in shadows, as shadows

take occupancy in the fore
and on the fringes, run the core

cutter, feed pulp through the headbox,
and reminisce in the sparse breakroom

situated out of frame—free of clutter,
a respite from abandoned hallways

and dust-littered floors. Come
the evening, as they file out and advance

down streets and sidewalks, signaling
the end of their day, the shadows

return to their homes and families,
fill their beds and content

themselves on their burgeoning
stake in a vibrant economy

wherein the light
can only reach so far.

Born and raised on Long Island, Nolan Meditz received my MFA from Hofstra University in 2014 and my Ph.D. from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2018. My poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Roanoke Review, AMP: Journal of Digital Literature, and Califragile among other publications. I currently live in Weatherford, OK, where I teach writing at Southwestern Oklahoma State University.