the bowl cut from red stone
rubbed smooth, the stem
carved of some pale wood.
on the stem's upper surface
a tortoise, a deer's head,
two ears of corn
laid side by side, and
the head of a mountain goat,
all in a row, spaced evenly
in high relief, each detail
clear-edged. From the dead
air of the case the pipe
calls up in its workmanship
a carver hunched with his knife
on a sunny winter morning
in a quiet so intent
he does not know he is happy.
and big hacked-out looking nose,
tired intelligent glittery eyes --
glittery as black grease. A sharp-cut
straight wide sulking mouth.
Beneath the lower lip and the cheekbones
emphatic black shadow, counterpart
of the light aglare against his forehead.
A willful face, an eager face.