Words Conjured into Being: wood grain

wood grain
by warren jones

A base
Strong
Yet
So easily chagrinned
By a wanton earth
By befuddled air
By stuttered wind
By irrational fire
By abrasive water
And by fluttering metal

A trunk so sinewy
That it belies
It’s stick-to-itiveness

Thank goodness
It’s another
Full moon
Flooding this watershed
With soft
Indecent light

I’ll always keep
Candles
Lit from now on

Insecurely forcing
The best side of me
Forward
Thrusting
My arms out
Like drunken marionettes

Mother
If I could just
Start
And start all over again
I would peel
And peel
And peel

To unveil a hull
Made from
Painted textures
And a spine
Made to
Breathe