Two workers, one on either side of the hole, pull
The ladder through. The hole is square, two
Feet by two feet, one story off the ground
Cut in a fence between two buildings. They are there to
Make sure the ladder doesn’t slip and vanish
Into the darkness past the blinking
Construction Workers at Night
Shane McCrae
Shane McCrae’s most recent books of poetry are The Many Hundreds of the Scent and New and Collected Hell, which will be published in February 2025. His memoir, Pulling the Chariot of the Sun, was published in 2023. He lives in New York City and teaches at Columbia University.