Stand you there at the old river ford
stand you there where the river rushes by
snapping its old metal teeth

Stand you there by the overland trail
stand you there where Ojibwe walked
where the river brought whites in wagons

Stand you there by the dam and bridge
derelicted into a ghost
where the water stopped and boiled and died

Come and drink this sweet water down
come and watch the mercury dance on
an engine block pinto-painted with
rust and death
and corrosion
and come and drink this acid here
and bathe your baby in
all the sweet sweet leaded water
in a river
passing through
the brownsite browndead browndirt
murder by the Chevy in the Hole
come and drink
and drink your fill
and drink it all
and bathe your body in it
top down convertible
anti-knock

Find out what it is to stand you here
stand you here where the river
adds children to the cemetery
and every body
has body work in the hospice
and the cancer center

Stand you there and drink
and drink
and drink
down this styx
that is the flint river.