Abacus

Crack! and fold,
bone didn’t hold.
Tides of marrow and blood
onto muscles flood.
New ends move toward tectonic disaster
Help could not come any faster.

I need a carpenter,
to shave, shape and shove

In need of welders too,
to fit a metal glove

And spare a friend indeed
None flighty like a dove

Bone carpentry commences
Welders put up metal fences
A friend even arrives at my door –

Suddenly left wanting more

I demand the village on a whim
Lest I put axe to limb
Fashion bone beads tonight
and have by morning light
a precise way to tell
who from good graces fell.

Say the count consumes me,
say I come to hate the accounting.
On strings of sinew,
misery from the miserly amounting.

Before I carve from my foundations
Hope that better measures lie elsewhere
The weight of expectations – grams of titanium hardware
The volume of care – a light fuss
The length of forgiveness – arm spans around us