Anna Egan Smucker
Anna Egan Smucker is the author of nine books including NO STAR NIGHTS (Knopf). A resident of Bridgeport, WV, her poems have been published in anthologies and literary journals. Her first poetry book, ROWING HOME, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2019. She lives in Bridgeport, WV. www.annasmucker.com
1900 PHOTO, OHIO RIVER FACTORY TOWN
In a shapeless cotton dress, she leans
against the doorway of a house made of sod
perched high above the road, the bank so steep
she must throw a rope to help her children up
from their twelve hour shift in the glass factory or mine.
Too frail to make milk, she’s buried
her infant son. Her husband lost his eye
in the foundry, his will in the bottle,
his future to the past.
She dreams of a farm in the country,
enough grass to feed a cow,
enough flat to lead her children
home to solid ground.
Sheila-Na-Gig online 