Poem for the day

T

Stone and Steel 

I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer

More woodsman's axe than surgeon's scalpel

Cleave by inertia more than intelligence

I know this

And accept it for what it is

My lot

But it need not mean I'm dull

A blunt tool

Good for nothing more than rude smashing

I'm more than that

I work hard

Keep my broad edge clean with stone and steel

And with this edge endeavor to strike with rudimentary precision

For effort and proximity can carry the day

If that's what you have

We can't all be scalpels

And axes are needed in this world

They build from the ground the platforms of the knife

There's dignity in their work

Though they're seldom celebrated for it

It's the scalpel that's revered

But blades, unattended, quickly tarnish and rust

Razor edge turns pointless

While axes, when whet, work untiringly, and long

Even when blunted by hard times

I'm not the sharpest knife in the drawer

More woodman's axe than surgeon's scalpel

I endure by the effort

Stone and steel

By: Mike Seplak

4/5/12