8 May 2022

By Philip Kuepper

He planed the rib of the boat.
He felt its smoothness,
its bendability.
Here was the carcass
before the flesh,
and the carcass
after the idea of it
had been made manifest.
Once the ribs were in place
would come the flesh of planking.
But not yet.
For there were yet to be
many ribs, each one
bending pliably, each one
planed, smooth to the touch.
It was the touch
that built the boat.

(19 April 2022)