Five Craft Characters
1. MASON
Maladjusted, swaggering on scaffolds,
A‑ self‑important in dust‑stained boots,
Snarling at apprentices,
Ornery as lime and grit,
Nonce of the guild,
yet loud as a foreman.
But stone remembers none of this: arches clasp, walls rise,
and even his crooked hand
leaves a habitation standing.
2. SMITH
Sullen at the anvil,
Muttering curses with each strike, Inflated by sparks
as if they were applause,
Temper short
as the iron he quenches,
Half‑drunk on smoke and clangor.
Yet the forge sings
louder than pride:
horses are shod,
hinges swing,
and the hammer’s rhythm
outlasts the man who wields it.
3. POTTER
Proud of his wheel,
Overbearing in critique,
Throwing more tantrums than bowls, Territorial about clay,
Easily cracked as his own glaze, Resting only when the kiln cools.
Still, the vessel survives him:
cups to hold water,
jars to keep grain,
a quiet utility shaped
from mud and fire.
4. WEAVER
Wary of others,
Egotist in pattern,
Arrogant about warp and weft,
Vexed by every knot,
Ever certain her loom is law,
Rigid as the frame she bends over.
Yet cloth is communal:
blankets warm strangers,
tapestries tell stories,
and threads, once crossed,
bind more than they divide.
5. MILLER
Morose in the morning,
Insisting the grain owes him fealty,
Lording over sacks of wheat,
Laughing at peasants’ hunger,
Ever counting coin,
Resigned to dust in his lungs.
But the wheel turns regardless:
water drives stone,
stone grinds seed,
and bread rises in ovens
far from his bitterness.
.
.
-
Author:
crypticbard (Pseudonym) (
Offline) - Published: February 26th, 2026 05:02
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 13
- Users favorite of this poem: sorenbarrett, Tristan Robert Lange, Mutley Ravishes, Kevin Hulme
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Comments7
An acrostic that is tightly woven, well forged, molded and baked set on a firm foundation. With all the symbols contained in each guild it bears a similarity to masonry itself. Very nicely done Cryptic. I am still pondering on those lines where it seems that they should have been the next as the acrostic letter falls withi the line as opposed to the first letter of a line. Does this too hold meaning?
As I ignore the acrostic element and go after the message, I find myself in remembrance of some of the blokes I've worked with over the years.... And a motley crew some of them were.
A memory stimulation write I enjoyed in a perverse kind of way.
Rick, my friend, this is sharp and satisfying…there’s bite in the character sketches, but the craft always redeems the caricature. That final image, “and bread rises in ovens / far from his bitterness.”, lands with quiet justice. Well done. 🌹🖤🙏🕯️🐦⬛
great write my friend
Well said! The notions we get in our head are laughable aren't they? Your poem highlighted that, well, for me at least.
Well thought-out Poem. So many things around us that were created years - Centuries ago - and the People who made them are long gone.
A fave.
Fine acrostics Rik.
Andy
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