m review poetry — hammer
Hammer
by Benjamin Vogt
It lays against the wall, flat flush on shelf
pushed tight into the corner. Buckets, paint,
and packs of soda wait for summer help
when a dozen afternoons lose self restraint,
and every tool rests marked across the ground.
This two-pronged curve that meets the sudden weight
of elegance and force will feel the sound
of its careful use. Patinas orange and sweet,
the speckled frost of rust, hold proof around
a metal shaft that its form is not defeat,
its rough-worn texture age that's dignified.
Beneath the rubber handle letters greet
the bottom edge. Initials etched as wide
as handgrip stains are just as out of place
against the miniature form. But it will glide
more soft and free than voices sung to chase
the work along. It will mark the silent pulse
of blood against the veins and bring a grace
more swift and straight than words or thoughts alone.
The perfect blow will melt toward every bone.
Benjamin Vogt of Lincoln, Nebraska
Benjamin Vogt is pursuing a Ph.D. in writing and literature at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, focusing on ecological and ethnic minority works of the 20th century. His poetry and creative non-fiction have recently appeared in Crab Orchard Review, Fugue, Puerto del Sol, and Verse Daily. Benjamin's award winning chapbook of poems, "Indelible Marks," is available from Pudding House Publications.
