Sign

Originally published in Southern Light: Twelve Contemporary Southern Poets, this poem was inspired by a sign I saw posted on the banks of the Tennessee River.

Sign

This message brought to you,
by the Tennessee Valley Authority,
by business, industry, and government,
by progress, prosperity, and jobs.

Mercury:
It’s an element. 
It’s a metal.
It’s a liquid.
It’s toxic.

Mercury:
It’s a capsule
launched into space
to splash down
in the Pacific Ocean.

Alan Sheppard rode the first
Mercury capsule
into space
splashed down
in the pages of history books.

Tennessee River waters contain mercury, 
not the space capsule, 
but the element.
It’s a metal.
It’s a liquid.
It’s toxic.

Tennessee River fish contain mercury, 
not the space capsule, 
but the element.
It’s a metal. 
It’s a liquid. 
It’s toxic.

Pregnant women 
should not eat 
these fish.

Nursing mothers 
should not eat 
these fish.

Children 
should not eat 
these fish.

Adult males 
may eat 
these fish.

Women past childbearing age 
may eat 
these fish.

Elderly people 
are encouraged to eat 
these fish.

Homeless people 
are required to eat 
these fish.

That is all. 
Have a nice day.