woodcut

We took me for a block of wood, and sanded me
down plain and flat,

And chose our ice-pick
tricky tools of varied size and point
and scoop,
to cut and gouge the negative
away,
revealing what the roller inks,
and what is left thereof to lack.
And when this deep design is done,

I will be just what's left
at surface depth, to make

a mirror print

on paper of what everybody thinks:
a hit-and-run;

and that
will be the start
of that.

We'll roll with ink and press to page
and pull away and call it

number one.