Stephanie Manning takes the train to work from Berkeley to Davis. She writes during the commute, resulting in many poems. These poems have the rhythm of the train, steady in pace, rocking a little from side to side, always driving til the very end. Her subjects have to do with the Sacramento River, wild life, the changes in urban developments along the track she has been observing on nearly a daily basis. The shell mounds–of shells, bones and evidences of early human settlements–are of particular concern for Stephanie, and she is active in the preservation of these historical sites.
Industrial contamination plays a big part in destroying the shell mounds. Big businesses put out a gesture of respect to placate the conservationists and then turn around and do what they please. Stephanie is the eye-witness bringing us first-hand reports on the gradual disappearance of something seemingly insignificant and useless. To most people, the evidences of early lives have nothing to do with modern times. The fate of the shell mound is unknown, except that they are preserved in a series of Train Poems.
