this saw is a stranger to me
picked up for a song
at at estate sale
right over that hill
but it reminds me
of my Dad’s bow saw
handle carefully wrapped
with leather cord
rubbed to a shine
I learned a lot from that saw
(not that I ever used it)
the sweaty toil
back and forth through logs
I’m not a farm kid
but I learned from one
persistence, doggedness,
optimism, faith, hard work
yet I wondered all along
why he put up with this
hindrance
never bought or borrowed
a chain saw
never employed electricity
why he preferred that
sweaty toil
back and forth through logs
his bow saw is now off to parts unknown
orange frame even more rusty
and he has a new hindrance
a brain that has betrayed him
gradual, inexorable imprisonment
as resolute as a farm kid
yet still as always
my Dad plods on
though diminished, still determined
finding his way; making it
dogged to the bitter end
sweaty toil
back and forth through life
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