7

this is the cutting out
of the human soul

             bang! cries the boy
                   bang! bang!
    oh the girl has skinned her finger

sheerly for hours
                  diamond-edged voicedrills
       polish the will

innocent crashes
       on wooden floors

the most skilled branch of existence
           and by far
the most poorly paid

(requiring skill and care)

is to cut out a shape
that is vaguely humanoid

              to exit the tub of water
      rouged and smoothed and bevelled

gilded by girls

<<<

24

poorly paid! poorly paid you say?
[muffled background comment]
That's right these words mean nothing to the average man [shuffle of various feet and significant coughs] or woman
Yes! We work our fingers to skin [shredded fingers raised in evidence]
We are alchemists [cue dreamy music] the most skilled craftspersons
They say Bedlam [interruption of indignant voice] is a house whose inmates are all poets!
[this last comment provokes a beguiling mix of consternation and confusion nevertheless the grant application was refused]