Artwork borrowed from Unsplash.com
What the lumberjack knows
The lumberjack knows just how
you make a tree into wood.
Start with the axe: is it sharp enough
to know just what it's taking?
Then, the swing: like lopping off
the wings of a bird. To make a thing
out of a being isn't easy work.
It takes a belly full of flapjacks.
It takes a heart full of hacks,
a hate polished into craft,
to trip these deep-rooted girls
down to shake the forest floor.
It takes a patience to sheer
their crown of leaves and sand
them into tables and chairs.
It takes a hunger to receive
their great green souls going up
and bind them into paper.
