despite his tremulous arm
and the fact that he was starved, downing
pretzels like pigeons pecking the ground. He

was a tree in winter that lost its leaves
and splintered. The workshop wasn’t heated
but was warm as a furnace, with

every apparatus one could use to build
a mansion on the hill. The saw had baby
teeth that cut through but was discreet. The scene

was very sweet, like the scent of pine in
a forest. It snowed sawdust. And instead of
fireworks I heard a gentle buzzing. My heart

wasn’t thumping. It was pulled by something
******* like the hose on a vac. It cleared
out all my plague. And his embrace, felt

like clamps holding me in place. One can build
a dresser in a moment. I knew we would fill
the drawers, in time of course. I left passing

the sawhorse and the stable full of wood. As I
climbed into my car my eyes welled with
tears. It had been years since I allowed myself
to feel anything. Soon it would be spring.