Etched in Clay

DAVE, JUNE 12, 1834

 

Only me here,

turning pots, making jars,

turning words inside my head

until I’m ready to explode

like a jar with an air bubble

in the furnace.

 

Magnanimous,

sagacity,

concatenation.

Here, on this jar

for all to see,

I’ll inscribe the date,

June 12, 1834,

and the word

Concatination.

Someday the world will read

my word etched in clay

on the side of this jar

and know about the shackles

around our legs

and the whips

upon our backs.

I am not afraid

to write on a jar

and fire it hot

so my word

can never be erased.

And if some day

this jar cracks,

my word will stay,

etched in the shards.