In the Woodwork

[kindofahippy]

A table can be a work of art,
but first it needs the proper balance
or else nothing will stay in place.

A shelf can hold expansive knowledge,
but when it's too narrow for its purpose
the books will bring it crashing down.

[Erthona]

Kinda,

Sorry, don't get much from this.

Dale

[Brownlie]

A table can be a work of art,
but first it needs the proper balance
or else nothing will stay in place.

A shelf can hold expansive knowledge,
but when it's too narrow for its purpose
the books will bring it crashing down.

Well, you seem to have some sort of a conceit here. It reminds me of those diagrams about Aristotle's forms. Which can be terribly constricting -That's my preacher's emoticon.

[Leanne]

Well, to me this sounds like an analogy (or a conceit, as brownlie says) for a poem and with that interpretation in mind, I like it

I've known a few narrow shelves in my time.

[zmeansy]

Nice I dig this.
A table can be a work of art,
but first it needs the proper balance
or else nothing will stay in place.
-------------------------------------
Where you perhaps thinking in Universal concepts of 'THE TABLE?'
It is interesting to note the order you rank a table and art. Art as the higher of the two, no?

[billy]

i'm kind of thinking the title gives it away. the wood has a purpose. in the case of a table it's for sitting at and putting things on, it can really only be beautiful if it succeeds in those two things, without them it can never be a table, same with the bookshelf if you don't make it deep enough it will always only be a ledge or small shelf..

i see the thing as two statements that read as a poem but lack much purpose. i'd like to see a third stanza to show some reason.
i think it has a lot of potential to be more than clever.

A table can be a work of art,
but first it needs the proper balance
or else nothing will stay in place.

A shelf can hold expansive knowledge,
but when it's too narrow for its purpose
the books will bring it crashing down.