A small job, replace a bit of wood
On the old worn deck hidden behind the old house.
Textured with cracks and wrinkles,
The old man of the backyard
Would look good with a new coat.

Pulled away the sinking boards
To find rot and bigger cracks below.
Structure takes a poke to reveal
Oatmeal-like softness.
Many pieces must come out.

The whole thing should be replaced,
But I seek instead to deal with failed parts only.
Others remain solid,
Can hold on for a few more years.

Deft surgery required here, and special tools.
Excise a piece here
Replace a metal fitting there.
Don't make the same mistakes the original builder did.
We can do better than that now.

At the end it will look much as before,
But the proof will be in the putting
Of feet to the boards and walking across
With out the creaks and groans.

Another year, maybe two
And we'll take the whole thing down.
And in its place will be something new
Built out of trees that at this minute
Sway gently in a northern breeze.