Ken Raines

Woodwork

He squints and turns the beam around,
swapping it end for end. He runs 
his eye down the length of the crown
and sees an overall design 

Natural Symmetry

The restaurant juts above the pond, 
casting lucent shadows in those moments 
that fall still between dinner and dark. 
Reflections luminesce against the faces 

Reclamation

The Oquirrh Mountains form a finger of land 
which rests its tip in the Great Salt Lake. Slopes 
behind alfalfa gently rise until they stop 
where the motion of ancient waves left benches of sand.

Thin Ice

I watch two girls on wheels. 
Four neon-green wheels 
on each foot. Rollers 

Thin Ice

I watch two girls on wheels. 
Four neon-green wheels 
on each foot. Rollers 

Maps of Time

We inch forward on hearsay, 
rumors, and puffs of wind, 
working the ancient arts 
of dead reckoning, stars, 

Aspiration

Wind, shorn from the sky by glass 
and concrete, whistles down the face
of the casino tower, flings the naked
branches of a sidewalk tree, and pours

The Passing Lane

Through the glow 
of dashboard lights 
reflected in the glass, 
I watch a plow drop its blade 
and scrape the ice, 
knicking the blacktop. 

Red’s Tire Barn Titans

They are overmatched from the beginning. 
Even the black block numbers on their backs
seem to loom on the jerseys that hang slack 
and flap about their narrow bodies, smooth

Archaeopteryx

Quarry workmen slice open the past,
pry limestone chunks with picks, 
shave each delicate layer 
with a chisel and a sledge. 

Borax

Mechanical Failures