Minnesota State Fair Poem: Work from Your Heart
Roger the Woodturner
by Leslie Ball
Roger the wood-turner
camps overnight up beyond machinery hill
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up under the water tower
under the stars
before sunrise he hikes across the fairgrounds
to his workplace in Heritage Square
Roger looks like a six foot gnome
wire rim spectacles
thick strawberry beard
he seems as elemental
as the wood he shapes into bowls
this morning he works on a chunk of birch
wedged into an old lathe
above our heads
two slender branches span the ceiling
tips wrapped with rope
like a giant fishing line
that drops down to wrap around the spindle of the lathe
then continues down to the tip of the treadle pedal on the floor
where Roger stands
left foot pumping the treadle up and down
up and down
up and down
pulling the rope and spinning the wood
he is warm, welcoming
moving with steady calm
the rhythm of the lathe hypnotizes the crowd
the branches overhead creak softly
birch shavings curl up and float to he floor
I ask Roger if he is this calm away from the lathe
"Are you this patient out in the world?"
He answers
"I love my work.
I couldn't do this without patience
and doing this gives me patience.
If you work from your heart
you can't help but find peace
wood-turner
computer programmer
budget planner -
doesn't matter.
If you work from your heart
you can't help but find peace."
