~after Philippos of Thessaloniki
Do you see him?—
he’s leaving his little heavy discus of lead
for marking the margins and the columns.
And his knife—for trimming and notching his reed pens.
And his longest ruler.
And his dry, ink-stained, fine-pored pumice stone
from the beach—for absorbing
mistaken ink, and for gently
rubbing away a wrong mark.
He puts them all there, together.
Not silver, not gold—but his grateful
donation today in honor of the Muses.
Everyday things—worth nothing.
Yes, of course. But old age has clouded his eyes.
He can’t work any more.
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Renditions, a book of poetry by Reginald Gibbons, will be available from Four Way Books in 2021.
