What has been writtenabout 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.
Photography credit: "A Castle Whittled by Hand," by John Burcham for The New York Times (originally color).
