.

The Fall of the House of Yellow

On July 28, 2023, after months of failed negotiations
between Yellow Freight Lines and the International
Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) over Yellow’s
proposal to consolidate their hodge-podge network
under the banner “One Yellow,” Yellow shut down
and filed for bankruptcy.

The Teamsters are the ones whom we must blame!
No honest person ever would agree
The IBT worked hard to change the game.
Impartial courts no doubt uphold the plea
Discussions were a farce out of the gate.
“One Yellow” would have stopped the hemorrhaging.
It’s absolutely asinine to state
No matter who you are, or how irate,
“Old Yeller is at fault for this whole thing.”
They did their best to keep and move their freight.
It is preposterous one could still hold—
When all the facts are gathered and are weighed,
When every angle has been seen and told—
“The company should earn a failing grade.”

The company should earn a failing grade!
When every angle has been seen and told,
When all the facts are gathered and are weighed,
It is preposterous one could still hold
They did their best to keep and move their freight.
Old Yeller is at fault for this whole thing!
No matter who you are, or how irate,
It’s absolutely asinine to state
“‘One Yellow’ would have stopped the hemorrhaging.”
Discussions were a farce out of the gate.
Impartial courts no doubt uphold the plea
The IBT worked hard to change the game.
No honest person ever would agree
“The Teamsters are the ones whom we must blame.”

.

.

D.R. Rainbolt is a resident and native of the unique cowboy-cajun-country cultural cross-roads that is Northwest Louisiana. Some of his poems have appeared in Vita Latina magazine.

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4 Responses

  1. Yael

    Very nicely done! Forwards and backwards your poem tells the story from both sides in a balanced manner.

    Reply
  2. Cheryl Corey

    How wonderful that you were able to compose this as two stanzas, one a reflection of the other. If I’m not mistaken, wasn’t Yellow Freight in business for some hundred years, making it one of, if not the, oldest trucking company?

    Reply
  4. C.B. Anderson

    This form is a very hard thing to pull off, but you did it. I’m glad I don’t drive a big truck — I’d wreck it.

    Reply

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