Belle Isle Hydro-electric plant Richmond ,VA

t sits on the cliff of belle isle

on gnarled weathered slopes. sculpted by man and nature
ts machinery began to rotate over a century ago,


64 years it ran,
a distant storm named Camille
Like a meteor entering earth parts of it impacts twice
on the Gulf Mexico and in the James River
Physics runs the waterwheel
Physics with a blow turns the wheel to never align again
The river weaves threads of water and particles
Ensnaring the generators

The river reclaims the lease
no more infant striper and shad torn to bits before they can grow to spawn

Trains of fossil fuels rumble by
On the wall the switch is set to
CLOSED, permanently;
The walls crumble
with the echoes of the fishermen on the rocks below