leonardcohenforum.com

Verse-a-tile Co. We Aim To Please!

Hope squared the flattened red clay,
grabbed another mud ball and repeated
the act, using the foot long, round stick
to smash down and mold the pliant
doughy earth. Grabbing a tool
that looked like half a picture frame,
she straightened the edges, pointed
the corners and put this tile next
to its twin.
Reaching for the pencil used
to inscribe the tiles, Hope scraped
letters into the drying clay. Cracked
mountains peeled up on either side
of the tiny canyons she formed, scraping
till both red squares were filled with
words. Concentrating long enough
for time to pass her by.

Sighing and straightening up from her
hunch over the table, Hope gazed at the
company logo hanging on the wall, and
felt a part of something bigger than
herself and the ruts carved in the clay.
The tiles could be dropped and broken
but the verses written on them could
never be erased once even one customer
read them. She lifted them with
care and placed them into the oven
where only the well formed survived