My father is losing sleep
about perfection.
A man who, all his life, pursued
the plumb straightness of his lines
is watching, without capacity to change,
the ups and downs and wavering
of lesser work
performed in his domain
and he doesn't sleep well.
Not anymore.
My father is calling helpers in
these days.
He can't shift the bricks and pavers
to lay them down in harmony.
His strength has left him overnight
or perhaps, crept away
in these last few, flying years.
Growing old is also growing anger
at the need to call for assistance
from incompetents and fools.
My father is holding on to pride
and dignity,
by forcing sundry artisans and labourers
to re-lay bricks and pavers
into the honest, straight lines
of plumb-bob and spirit-level
that a man may watch all day
with the satisfaction of a lifetime
spent pursuing small perfections
and building pride.
~
-
Author:
Frank Prem (
Offline) - Published: December 29th, 2017 01:17
- Category: Reflection
- Views: 14
Offline)
Comments4
We are losing so many people who always did their jobs to a very high standard to people who need to use speed instead of skill. I have watched many craftsmen do their work so well and I feel honoured that I could watch their skill, their art, as that is what it was, an art in many ways.
Yes, GF. Watching a craft being performed is a meditation in itself.
Good write Frank. If others are shoddy, we might come down to their level sometimes - 'They are not bothered, so why should I be?'
Yet others hold on to their standards.
The older we get, the more evident the deficiencies ion contemporary standards, I find. Sad old world.
Back to the video game ...
This makes me feel a tad sad as I recognise something of my father in the write and even something of myself as I grow older - super work Frank.
It's all of us as we get older isn't it? Rubbish work done by so-called professionals ... oops!
The level of perfection in a man's work describes him ... in this I agree with your father. What does this say about the shoddy work performed by the less caring workers we see today? Good write, Frank!
If you think about these things much, despair is your neighbour, I think. Mine anyway. Oh well.
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