Tools: An Ode

The cheap

screwdriver reams the cheap

screwhead,

and dull

blades burn white oak

and splinter cherry.

The bad wrench

torques

the bolt on crookedly

and strips the threads.

But underneath good tools,

the screw bites freely to its full depth,

the board

rips cleanly

and the hex nut weds its bolt.

Thin shavings rise in long unbroken curls,

each lovely in itself.

The good tool

smooths

rough lumber underneath an unforced hand,

unwarps

the warped board,

trues the untrue edge

before it chops the mortise, cuts

the tenon,

and taps them home

in happy marriage, snug

and nearly

indestructible.

With good tools

the edge falls

plumb and all

four corners square.

And there is order

in the polity

and pleasure in 155