studio

he fancies himself
a fisherman

as he leans
a little
forward
nearer in to the stone
and taps
mallet
to chisel
to rock

there

another part
of another shape
is etched in

deep enough
to show itself

deep enough
to last

he shakes chips of stone
from his smock
and leans in again
toward the next outline

the hammer strikes

the chisel bites

another chip
another line
another
etching

a med.it.a.tion

fish

fish
you be a shark
you

be a shark

he touches
fingers to a fin
a flank
the tail
the bitey fishy head
of it

a quickened jerk
a flip
of tail

a shaking
wilding
swinging of the head
from side to side

into the water
lapping at his feet

at the base
of a hollow
sculpting stone

a fin
cuts through the water

distance
perspective
diminishment

nothing at all

just a fisherman
a chisel
a mallet
hollow stone
and water lapping
in a studio

~

A book that has stimulated a number of poems in the last little while can’t be bad. Check out: Nick Harkaway, Gnomon. A not entirely flattering review, but a very interesting read.

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