Sonnet to Landslide Stabilization

O massive slide upon the westward coast
Whose basal failure surface depth defies,
Along with toe, resists common cures most
Geotechnic engineering supplies.
Know that Squier Associates knows thee
And, with test horizontal drain system,
Shall control thy vast drawdown, verily,
Conquer the piezometric problem.
With horizontal drains drilled array
And deep drainage shaft with radial tier,
Squier Associates shall meet the day
Secure, and with budgetary savings dear.
And thus, though underground and out of sight,
This new drainage system shall make all right.

Ten poems were commissioned by the Consulting Engineers Council of Oregon for their 1998 Engineering Excellence Awards Banquet. I was directed to be "entertaining but technically accurate" as I summarized the candidates' projects. This poem and another were later published in the Daily Journal of Commerce.