“A craftsman knows in advance what the finished result will be, while the artist knows only what it will be when he has finished.” WH Auden. (I would say person and they as replacements)
Wood Would Be Good The tree would wood if it could, but it needs to be downed to the ground, it's cellular ready and now well you are able, its rigor mortis now mortised and cased, after the lop with a chisel and chop by that circular saw in line perpendicular, no cringe for the perfect fit hinge, all excited, so tidy and mitred, the fumes from the stain filling my brain as I hang, hammer, bang to the wall. Copyright 2022 ©Paul Vincent Cannon All Rights Reserved ®
parallax 
Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet.
LikeLiked by 1 person
🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Always a pleasure to read and share your posts with followers, Paul!! Have a great day!
😊👍✨✨🎉
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think this is a fun one. But maybe you are saying something I am missing. You are usually pretty serious.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A bit of both really, a whimsical story on one level, but underneath is the serious matter of how we need to work with nature in order to survive together. We need wood, but we also need trees, a bit of a conundrum really 🙂 Thank you for the question Patricia and for noticing the style of the poem.
LikeLike
I knew there was something deep there. Thanks for opening my eyes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, it takes two ….
LikeLike
Native Americans used to thank the spirits of the animals they hunted for sustaining them. This poem seems to be filled with respect for the tree that gave its life for furniture. Very touching poem and an uplifting attitude toward the natural world. Take care, Paul! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Spot on Cheryl, it is exactly so, thank you for getting it 🙂 I have read about the indigenous American way of thanking the creatures and plants they needed, amazing, in some ways our indigenous here have something like that .many thanks indeed.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Loved this poem. I was lucky enough to do a woodworking course with my family recently & with the help of our teacher we made a stool (one leg each), it was amazing to see the legs take shape from the tree and gave us a whole new level of respect for craftsmanship.
I’m in the middle of a book called Materials by Nick Kary which discusses the relationship between craftsman and their materials, it seems to me to be a spiritual one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love that you and family together took a woodwork course, wonderful. That book sounds like one I’d enjoy, but yes, I get that, I think all forms of creativity are spiritual (in the broadest sense of the word) Thank you so much for sharing this.
LikeLike
I love birds…..
LikeLiked by 1 person
You got me thinking, Paul
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hope that’s a good thing, thank you Rupali
LikeLike
I just shared your poem with an “unplugged” woodworker whose blog I follow.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for doing that Liz. Does this woodworker share woodwork ideas, process etc? I play about now and again 😀
LikeLike
Love the play with words
>
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha, yes, thank you 🙂
LikeLike