Tendrils (a poem)...

Tendrils
by PMZ

Long thin tendrils
Of smoke and bark

Emphasize just how stark

This place is.

Stark, but beautiful too,
With nothing here but me
and You,

(and the trees, and the rocks, and the birds, and the ants)

And an innumerable, unfathomable need

For more
To Stay
Life is gray
On the Quay

That leads to Humanity's ship

Lead me not to the Ship
Let me slip

Away
To the woods
To the fields
To the desert
To be healed

Of my unbelief
Of my pointless grief
May you be the chief

Of my life for a time, and soon we will fly

Away
Away
Away

To the mountains
Primal fountains
Tryst Clandestine

Again I will run to the hills.

PMZ

Weekend Ascetic:

Weekend Ascetic

by PMZ

When we sit down on a bed of moss

Beneath the spreading branches

Of a majestic, high-crowned oak

Covered in burls, the ground littered with acorns,

Squirrels chattering in the boughs high above our heads,

I often wonder if You care

Even when I know You are there

I first sensed You here many years gone

And I know that You sit beside me with your hand on my shoulder,

Waiting for me to ask you these questions,

Deep questions that garnish the pages

Of large leatherbound tomes,

Written in calligraphic, decorative script

With all the care the sages of the ages could muster.

I know that You are there, and that those who raised me are incorrect

In their assumption that houses of worship

Are the best place to meet You.

And I know

That every time I return

To the wilderness

Your hand will be upon me

And You will never leave
these

Sylvan Sanctuaries

Desert Dominions

Jungle Gymnasiums

Arctic Assemblies

For Your presence is not confined

To a building, nor is it captive

To our souls, that is to say

That You are not limited

By our imaginations

Nor by our collective consciousness

Nor by our need for companionship or fellowship.

And I thank You for these realizations.

So I will retrace my steps

Past the old pump house

Over the abandoned railroad track

Across the lock

Leaping from buttress to buttress

Hoping that one day I will understand You more

For by using Your creation for its intended purposes

I experience You.

Next week I will return

For another glimpse of Your face,

To gather the bounty of the woods,

To carve another spoon, and split

Some more wood for the fire

Upon which I will build a crane

And place the pot of water

To heat for the tea

Made from the bark of yet another plant,

To bake another tuber

In the coals,

To smoke some meat

Taken from a rabbit's body

All of which were put here by You, to be used by me, for Your Glory.

Thank you for this Suburban Wilderness

Which you have preserved for me

By means of the earthy wisdom

That you granted my forefathers

Old men with tanned, creased faces

Who wore smelly, sweat-soaked denim overalls

and long underwear all year long

Who bathed at least once a month

And who often roamed these woods, daring to ponder

The very same questions I just asked You.

Until Next Time,

PMZ

Moar projects...

PSK knife made from tip of OH butcher:



Old school Plumb Anchor brand broad hatchet mounted on old rake or shovel handle:






Cut-down boning/butcher type knife I rehandled in black walnut with thick black vulcanized fiber spacers. There are some gaps, but with the pins in there it is solid:)






Two firesteels, the one on the left is 3/8" x 4" and has a handle made from some sort of dark red wood (from tongue and groove wall) and was soaked in an aging/preservative bath and then buffed with Howard's Feed 'n' Wax.

The one on the right is 1/4" x 3" and has a wild cherry wood handle, but without the bath, just some Restore-A-Finish and Feed 'n' Wax.

Both have copper tubing for lanyard tubes, carefully glued in place and chamfered.






This was a culinary delight of my own making (not something that occurs very often:p). It was a bannock, ham, swiss cheese, green olive and Miracle Whip sandwich. It was excellent, and by placing the lid back on top of my cast iron skillet and turning down the heat a notch, the cheese melted most satisfactorily;)




:)
PMZ

Project Recap...

:)
PMZ

Spoon carved from maple, finished with tung oil.

Sized to hold right on one teaspoon:







:)
PMZ