The man in the cab of the crane
Sat upright
Thick hands on the levers
Shaking visibly at idle
A hint of the power of the machine.

Heavy canvas work clothes
Bear marks that tell a story
Of years layered deep
Built upon debris
From his wrecking ball.

Mindful always of the force
He delivers, where he strikes
Laying down the condemned
Preparing a groundwork
For Renewal.  With Hope.

Like a hawk's his eyes 
Miss nothing as he arcs
The mighty arm precisely
To the chosen point of impact
For measured deconstruction
Conducted with care.

He is quietly proud.
Years of honest labor unfold
Opening on a tender heart
Under a hard earned
Grizzled leather hide.

"Two weeks", he was told
"You must wear a blindfold
While you whirl the ball".
Science dictates it must be done.
It is the only way.

He has flattened so many things
Why should he ask, "Why?"
When he was told to flatten a curve.
And by the way, he couldn't look
While doing what he did.


"Don't talk to your neighbors".
"You are Essential".  "Front Line".
"Keep the blindfold on".
"Don't hug.  Don't laugh.  Don't sing".
"Let that Steel Ball swing!"

So he did what he was told
violated Oath and Creed
Feigned he could not hear
The crushing Boom
Over his uneasy beating heart.

Two weeks became two more.
Two Months.  Two Years.
And flatten he did:
Social Bonds.  Freedom.  Autonomy.
Recognition of a Smile

The rubble heap grew.
Steaming.  Shredded.  Pulverized.
What had been Unique and Vital
Noble, Elegant, Alive
Lay Crushed, bloodied, Dying.

He did his part well
Sacrificed to make it so.
Blindfolded Religiously
In the name of the Father
Son and Holy Ghost.

A day came the blindfold could come off
He was told.  But wait.  Could he?
Would he wake without pants on
In a public place, ridiculed?
He'd dreamt it so often.

After all this time he felt
It might be safer to keep it on
Not risk such an exposure
Of standing out, a Heretic
Of seeing with his naked eyes.

Disused, in dark so long
Could he trust them now?
Would a suddenness of Light
Blind him?  Burn his optic nerve?
He was, unlike himself, Afraid.

Those fears were out of place.
When he let the blindfold drop
His eyes saw far too well
Too clearly...What was it?
A landscape alien and mean.

Where was what he'd known?  And Loved?
What had been was gone.
He himself had done this.
Had followed faith in Experts.
Done his duty well.

He knew he should have known.
He'd violated Oath and Creed.
Had swung his wrecking ball
Blindfolded religiously.
Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Amen