Tuesday, August 12, 2008

OUR HAMMERS

by Dale Goodson


no nail
no wood

so why the pounding

I’m not made of metal
neither are you
not oak
not stone

but look at the damage
as if we were

instead of a box
or a fence
or a chair
we swing the things at each other

and it’s not just us
strangers’ll do it too
take a brute mallet
and let fly

everyone knows we don’t hold up well –
about like paper

but still
hammers, clubs
harpoons
anything to deliver a blow

LESS FORCE MORE CARE

what about effort in that direction
should be something there for everybody

something that
could start in the kitchen over tea
or out in the hallway
where nothing ever happens

something gentle
something molecular
like
the fine ether that surrounds
this planet of neighbors

could be we do that-
make that effort

then start again
hands free



Dale Goodson is a writer from Seattle currently living in New York City.
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