Fasteners

I used the pine from the back of the shop

and a hand-saw that bit like a dog.

It sits in the bottom of a cardboard box

with a set of dull knives and a tattered rug.

The middle shelf leans to the left

where the nail went in crooked and split the grain.

There is a yellow bead of glue

frozen near the corner

like a drop of sweat I forgot to wipe away

before the wood went cold.