The Old Blog in the Desert

(May 1977)

Yellow bits of metal.
Soft
And shining.
Everyone likes it
And all want it.

Wash gold;
The vein still hidden.
Hard work.
Panning
And sluicing.

Four months,
Allowed for dredging.
Mother lode.
Troy ounce.
Twelve to the pound.

Digging.
Sore arms
And tired back.
A shovel
And a pick-ax.

Still nothing.
Still dredging
And digging.
The pains
And the sorrow.

All for what?
A few flakes of gold.
Keep trying.
Don’t give up.
Mother lode to find.