Powerhouse
--Canterbury Shaker Village, NH
Pipes and gears, great wheels to spin
painted red and yellow like warnings:
that wonderful thick paint! Still vivid now
in another century. Turbines. The water
wheels are all gone. But one mill house sits
snug, but for a little drip drip and moss
on the walls, its old power replaced
by the clanging new. And the fire, the firetruck,
bell silenced, wait nearby.
Trustees Office
--Canterbury Shaker Village, NH
Two men.
Two women.
Equals.
Dwelling across the lane.
Of the Village yet a bit
Not of Us.
Trusted to meet the world’s people.
Clocks and desks and the new electric lights.
A telephone.
The world comes to us through them.
To buy and sell.
Here are the ledgers kept:
Careful ink.
Now, though we are all gone to ground,
Still this is.
Our store.
