Comma, apostrophe, back-
slash, cursive flourish —
an all-purpose divider
that only accidentally resembles
a question mark in search
of its dot-like perch.
No self-respecting crow, beak
clever at leverage, ever
departed from
the declarative mode.
Male & female
hand & handle,
heavy as Wednesday.
What iron tree might ramify
if you insinuated yourself
into some sidewalk crack?
I know that curl
from watching seeds sprout:
cotyledon at the point
of pulling apart.
OTHER POSTS IN THE SERIES
- Odes to Tools now in print
- Ode to a Socket Wrench
- Ode to a Claw Hammer
- Ode to a Musical Saw
- Ode to a Hand Truck
- Ode to a Shovel
- Ode to a Hatchet
- Ode to Scissors
- Ode to a Bucket
- Ode to Forks
- Ode to a Magnetic Screwdriver
- Ode to a Plumb Bob
- Ode to a House Jack
- Ode to a Measuring Tape
- Ode to Scythes
- Ode to a Plane
- Ode to a Spirit Level
- Ode to a Hoe
- Ode to Tin Snips
- Ode to a Crowbar
- Ode to a Coping Saw
- Ode to a Hive Tool
- Ode to a Compass
- Ode to a Shoehorn
- Ode to a Wire Brush
- Woodrat Podcast 2: Elizabeth Adams and “Odes to Tools”
- New Odes to Tools review by Noel Sloboda
- New review of Odes to Tools
- New review of Odes to Tools by Kathleen Kirk
- Odes to Tools as “living poetry”
- Scythes revisited
ha! cotyledon indeed.
At first I wondered about “as heavy as Wednesday. Then I realized that Wednesday is in the middle of the week and has to include the weight of three days on either side. I liked that and having to think about it.
Sometimes the word or phrase that sounds best is also what makes the most sense – even if it’s a hidden kind of sense. Glad this worked for you, too.
Nice. Another memory jog of our years of renovations and that satisfying sound of tearing apart, pulling nails, and leverage, as you say so poetically!
You’ve really hit a groove with this home-brew genre, Dave. This is great.
Really like this one, another great bringing to life. Cotyledon……:)
Thanks, guys. Marja-Leena, you’re right – there is something very satisfying about pulling things out, or apart, with a crowbar, though I didn’t really focus on that in the poem. Material perhaps for another crowbar poem down the road.