Sculpture

[Philatone]

V. 2 changes (much thanks to Todd for bringing the polish)

S.1 removed
new S.1- "tools" to "chisels"
- moved "We are not God" to the 1st stanza
S. 2 "cloak" to "shroud"
S. 4 removed the first repetition of "It is not easy"; removed "and" before "be finished"
S5. created by moving "It is not. It is not" to its own line

Sculpture
hammers and chisels
cannot separate
spirit from stone
man from earth
life from rib.
We are not God

enough to lift the dead; just enough
to bury them in the darkness
of a shroud, a windowless room,

return them
to the grains of dust,
hide the evidence
of a fallow field.

It is not always easy
to lay the file down,
place the chisel by the sink,
wipe the powder to the floor;
to finish
be finished.
It is not always easy
to abandon a face
you almost recognize.

It is not. It is not.




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Original


Sculpture
staring into petrified eyes
as chisels burrow into marrow,

hammers and tools
cannot separate
spirit from stone
man from earth
life from rib.

We are not God
enough to lift the dead; just enough
to bury them in the darkness
of a cloak, a windowless room,

return them
to the grains of dust,
hide the evidence
of a fallow field.

It is not always easy
to lay the file down,
place the chisel by the sink,
wipe the powder to the floor;
It is not always easy
to finish
and be finished.
It is not always easy
to abandon a face
you almost recognize.
It is not. It is not.