old narrow bookcase,
hand-sawed: pinewood
varnished dark, the grain
flowing like a creek at dusk.
traces of the maker's hand
remain--his keyhole saw
and chisel, sandpaper.
it's good to see the life
in things falsely called
inanimate--spirits of tools,
trees, crafters, days:
evaporated moments way
before I lived. this bookcase
was when I was not. turn now,
see and touch a thing nearby,
retrieve its history alive in your
mind. imagine its granular past
marked by the form of the thing.
hans ostrom 2021
No comments:
Post a Comment