Friday, April 9, 2021

Shavings - Apr 8 2021

 

Shavings

April 8 2021

 

She said she whittles them down.

 

Her words on the page;

like a sharp knife to wood,

the soft shavings curling off

and piling at her feet.

 

This is also how the brain works,

early in life

pruning networks and nerves

as it learns its place in the world.

 

As she has also learned

to shuffle and repurpose.

 

But unlike the splinters and chips

a word is never lost;

the same words

over and over,

same 26 letters

same commas and stops.

 

And while a stick can only get smaller

poems get added on,

resurrected and revisited

revised and even rewritten.

 

Soft wood, from pine or spruce.

And hard words

that help her write her way out.

The soft underbelly

she can't help expose,

the depleted nerves

she needs to explore. 


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