My dear Petcies, as I told Randolph I would do, I'm now going to type out my pome to you. And at the end, if the ComputerGod of Email doesn't run out of room, I'll add a few brief comments, chiefly of gratitude to you.
Sculpting
it wasn't an occupation
just an avocation gone obsessed
leading her from sleep and simple duties
until she'd laid the thing to rest
oh she'd potteried before
on wheels that others used
she'd patted and spun each simple lump
lifting the thing moist high
and when it was dry
'twould take any glaze
but it was after all a shell
then metal things accumulated
arranging themselves to attract her view
aluminum copper wire and sheet
anything she found on the street
chrome fenders sun-caressed
on their roundest parts
C-clamps curtain hooks brass headlamps
but they already belonged
in teamed machines
in fully functioning pairs
it may have been the sixth of june
or perhaps it was august late
as she sat once more to meditate
confessing confusion avoiding illusion
asking the Sculptor for the Light
immediately at least it seemed quite soon
a friend dropped this Material by
right into her living room
it sat there
obscuring the television
disturbing her dining routine
too big to move
she was forced to look at it
timidly tapping it sometimes even slapping it
analyzing its properties
guessing its strength
but there was she conceded
something she could do with it
maybe something with its shape
then began the hectic dance
the search for a perfect tool
she gathered mallets chisels and forks
but they seemed too
drastic too cruel
yet the Material
still waited
patiently she guessed
she even felt it watching her
and that slowed her frantic quest
no tool that's it she thought just me
she approached the living room Material
lay a hand on its ample side
or was it the top or underneath
the Material
needed more touching
off and on on and off
for days and weeks she
played with it worked with it
stretching all around and over it
and she liked it really liked it
she rearranged her t.v. and table
they looked better that way anyhow
admired the Material's
yielding yet unalterable form
and one gentle night
it disappeared from sight
as Material
and their love was born.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Judy Prince
June 2005
(I'll right away send an explanatory email, as I'd said at the beginning)
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