Great and Noble Jar

DAVE, MAY 13, 1859

 

My jars are the envy

of every potter in the area;

wheel thrown on the bottom,

coiled clay on the top—

a method devised by me.

Lewis Miles says, “Dave,

I bet you can’t make one

that holds forty gallons.”

And I say, “I bet I can.”

My helper rolls out ropes of clay

more than six feet long.

I coil each rope

around the bottom of the jar

and smooth the new clay

into the old

with short, clean strokes,

careful to blend the seams.

Then we turn the wheel

slow and steady,

and I shape that jar

till it reaches for the sky.

Across the top I write:

Great & Noble Jar . . . ,

for that

it truly is.