Whittling: The Last Class by John Stone

What has been written

about whittling 

is not true

most of it

It is the discovery

that keeps

the fingers moving

not idleness

but the knife looking for 

the right plane

that will let the secret out

Whittling is no pastime

he says

who has been whittling 

in spare minutes at the wood

of his life for forty years

Three rules he thinks

have helped 

Make small cuts  

In this way

you may be able to stop before

what was to be an arm

has to be something else

Always whittle away from yourself

and toward something.
For God's sake

and your own

know when to stop

Whittling is the best example

I know of what most 

may happen when

least expected

bad or good

Hurry before

angina comes like a pair of pliers

over your left shoulder

There is plenty of wood

for everyone 

and you

Go ahead now

May you find

in the waiting wood

rough unspoken

what is true

or

nearly true

or

true enough.

~ from Music from Apartment 8 (Louisiana State University Press, 2004)

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The White Room by Charles Simic