With a Dull Axe - Dec. 23, 2024

the perfect strike can penetrate

like a knife though table butter

but with a dull axe it must be

struck parallel to the grain

chop any old way and a blunt axe

will bounce off the wood sending

vibrations down your arm that

flash red warnings in your brain

with my unsharpened axe

the blows shear off thick slivers

more like whitling yet I still

appear manly with an armful

destined for the fireplace

I have thought of sharpening it

which would make life easier

though I’ll probably use it until

the pile I carry in isn’t enough

to warm a whole evening

and with a cold face staring at

fading flames I’ll think about

how only a fool feels sorry

for a dying spark and with the

hardest and warmest burning

wood sitting in the shed

blames the axe