employee #1756
asleep at the wheel at the end
of a twenty-two hour shift
starting work at 4 a.m.
to drill Marcellus Shale
200-mile drive from an Ohio job
to the company shop in Anmoore
West-by-God-
where-the-hell-have-You-gone-
Virginia
but don’t stop ‘cause money talks
like a burning bush
$12 an hour beats the minimum
paid at the bakery
where he met his high school bride
of seventy-four days
still owes on the ring
a State Trooper
introducing himself on the phone
sorry
safety rules
the oil and gas industry lobbied
for longer hours
behind the wheel
the company
denies any wrongdoing
a mother crying
for crying out loud
after the body been viewed
the new-hire who rode shotgun
got his CDL double time
just tell him where to go
‘cause he ain’t going back
to no fucking fast food