Shoemaker

The children watch his hands

strain against leather, tug

tough hide, obdurate skin,

once supple and alive, 

now stiff and dry,

see how his patience,

like love,

wears death down

until new shoes grow

in his strong hands.

They learn to bend 

life's refuse
to new use,

how being 

always finds 

purpose.

Thus, in lines of memory

we measure our days.

The ancestors guide us

as we build new form

from old tears,

and our children

watch

and learn.

(6/12/2013)

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Shoemaker, Hung Liu, 1999, oil on canvas, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento CA