The Disappearance of Dungaree

by John Davis Jr. 

It unlisted from our lexicon along
with ancestors’ harder drawls and ways:
I-tell-yous and scuffle hoes.

Another word for work denim, it fell
from favor like mid-day hat brim sweat
erased from soil by techno-culture’s rain.

Devices and comforts encrust
our current conversations. We bear
witness to wither, lacking labor’s language.

John Davis Jr. is the poet laureate of Winter Haven, Florida. His book, Middle Class American Proverb, was published in October by Negative Capability Press of Mobile, Alabama. He holds an MFA from University of Tampa and teaches creative writing at the Harrison School for the Arts in Lakeland, Florida. His poetry has appeared in literary journals around the South and internationally. Read his previously published poetry in Deep South here.