Two Cutting Edge Views

My friend Nelson e-mailed me last night and included a poem that his daughter had written recently.  It was not only a wonderful poem, it reminded me of a poem that I wrote a few years ago with a similar subject.  I've included them both:

"IN "

by Kathleen Sartoris

The edged knife
permanently lodged

Perfect posture
and forward motion,
slows feelings
minimizes pain

Blinders off
daily armor off
vulnerable openness
fetal position,
it cuts through channels
vital for worldly survival

Silence
confronting and truth exposing
writhing compulsive movement
internal agitative terror,
it then pierces the soul - indiscriminate

pain with no palliation
eternal

serrated knife
    by Tim Martin

a serrated knife cuts best
for things well done/ you chew up
the results; the flavor goes
away/ you don’t care so much,
the next bite is the tastiest/

a serrated knife cuts best
when you need
to separate meat from bone/
you excise the bad part,
making sure
of a sliced clean plate/

a serrated knife cuts best
and after all,
tools are what separates
us from the other animals;
not to say
that there is no beast left over/