Learning
Uncle
Joe taught me how to resurrect the fallen
Olive
logs and forge of them loveless furniture
As
I trusted no mask to protect from specks
Sawdust
would collect thick on my chest
I
used to flick flecks across the workshop
With
hardened fingers which checked for knots
Customers
came to watch us break our backs
Something
in the method, the authenticity
Compelled
to smell the abrasive blades’ sweat
And
taste the sweet fruits of tiresome grafting
Joe
told me not to contest the strange interest
Taken
by mere mortals in making things
Sure,
the awe-filled stares grated as I’d grind
Another
drawer, grooving with an awl till smooth
But
I bit my lip, let bitter notions settle
And
conquered my seething by reading stories
Once
rooted deeply in the unruined ground
Now
bound but swimming with wit and wisdom
I’d
take my new-found love to the temple steps
And
admire the scholars’ tongues sharing songs
Joe
warned against involvement with such men
Convinced
they had no useful words to spread
Instead
he said that we should cut some oak
And
shape it into shelves kept for ourselves
He
bought me books which offered other thoughts
The
stronger ones I engraved onto my throat
To
be given air once I had fully carved
My
final coffin and watched it sink
Author's Notes: 'Learning' forms part of an acclaimed poetry collection which re-imagines the life of Jesus into present day America. I am currently in the process adapting the collection to create a piece of poetic prose. This will become the next instalment in my series of short fictions, Living Legends. The provisional date for the release of 'Living Legends: Jesus Christ' on Amazon Kindle is 11th December 2013.
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