Scythe

The only phrase that they could translate
they found carved into the stone
of this old temple in the middle of a clearing
just below a dozen crossings of our freeway
was, “know your place and you will know
no pain”

You can make a half moon out of paper cups
or a dragon out of fabric,
but this whole world made up of rectangles
could be unmade in just a few years
by the ocean.

A dad in a fresh pair of chalk white
New Balances bought a scythe
at some auction he was passing through
and sharpened it while watching
all the nightly news so filtered by
the cadence of the caster.

He uses it to mow the lawn
taking past the sunset to complete it,
but when he finishes he realizes
Just how much closer of a shave
this really brought him like a
straight razor for the Earth
without an engine besides
the strength of us to deviate
the distance from the dirt.

It’s almost like it’s meant to hurt
a little bit.