In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

  • Repopulation
  • Greg Nicholl (bio)

Times Beach, Missour

At what temperature does soil ignite, become sterile? How long before nutrients regenerate? Before bright green shoots poke through the blackened terrain? A town in Missouri was evacuated days before Christmas, the floodplain long since dried up so they sprayed the streets with tainted water, created a slurry of silt and dioxin; the whole town toxic, its houses condemned, then buried. Later scientists discovered they could purify the soil, send it into remission if the fire burned hot enough, the dust reborn as a park, trails leading through hickory and sweetgum, clearings where kids run barefoot through the grass. No sign of the town buried underneath, nor the hand that cupped the spark nested in thistledown, breath blowing gently into the palm as if to coax: wake up, wake up. [End Page 55]

Greg Nicholl

greg nicholl lives in Baltimore and works in academic publishing. His poetry appears or is forthcoming in Boulevard, Cold Mountain Review, Crab Orchard Review, Gay & Lesbian Review, Mid-American Review, Post Road, and elsewhere.

...

pdf

Share