LadySmith

I rarely work with steel, hard

pitch, requires vigilance,

potent purpose, hammer-

strike, strike and strike again

Heavy wire, reveals,

gunmetal gilt, each skelp

and brand, a phantom

preview of finished finery

The mileage I get from

these brief encounters,

banks far more than

sterling or copper or bronze

The steel makes me

Admiral, hammers line

the bench, the steaming

quench. I am no one’s

Errand Girl.