Tools of the Trade

 

To give and get in return: that’s
One way to think of trade. Midnight
Oil to smoke and burn hunched
Over canvas, parchment, loom,
Chisel and marble, sandstone,
Jade. Perfection is only ever
A dream. Any toiler with a fiddle
And bow will tell you she lives
For the incremental progress
The slow improvement the
Thousandth repeat when it finally
Seems to approximate to
Music. The muse is tied to the
Strings. It is possible one day
The brush the paint the writer’s
Quill will set her free and when she
Sings the tools will consider
Your dues paid. Another way
To think of trade.