WHITTLING
By David Radavich
The words must be
carved into significance.
Like the workings
of a carpenter—nail
or shim or sawed-off
excess falling to the floor.
The real meaning
may appear in the grain,
or against the grain,
a shape or line
smooth as a cheek
that lingers with a grin
and takes up living
among all the furniture
of our lives,
a place to sit or recline
with a stiff drink
that helps us forget
all that has been
shaved away.