Back and forth in the mill
we cut wood stack it on pallets
ten hours twelve then the big
Amish man Toby chops off
his thumb he was behind me
when I heard him holler blood
jet ambulance I drive him
to his doctor’s appointment
back and forth in Middlefield
they build cabinets from this wood
oak and maple and pine 24×48 boards
we gently place on the saw
rip and crosscut down to exact size
we can’t shake the buzz
through inch-thick earplugs we change
the blades wax the saw work late
Saturday back and forth in Middle-
field Ohio they build cabinets
Toby sliced off his thumb
then screamed my name oak
and maple and pine we change
the blades work all night
fight we can’t shake the buzz Toby
cut off his thumb working overtime
oak and maple and pine
Published in Cider Press Review, Volume 27, Issue 4.
Charles Kell is the author of Ishmael Mask (Autumn House Press, 2023). His first collection, Cage of Lit Glass (Autumn House Press, 2019), was chosen by Kimiko Hahn for the 2018 Autumn House Press Poetry Prize.
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