The colors of marks made by tools
In oak, pine, yew, fruitwood,
And even ancient larch
the sound, the first sound,
after we put the chainsaw down
and strain to hear again
catch the wood smell as the chisel
finishes the perfect cicatrix along the board
deafness recedes, breath sharper now
we stretch to return to ordinary air
for sight, smell, and sound
our senses, thus far evolved,
will not catch as we glimpse
fall the last oak leaf
that it lands with infinitely high
scritch against the bluestone slab
awaiting quietly beneath
This article appears in September 2014.
