The Stone Mason

One learns to feel the nature of the stone

And understand the way it must be faced.

The artist's hands are rough but his heart is true,

He sees the beauty others cannot see

Who look at rock and rubble at their feet,

But more than this he knows that every stone

Must harmonize with others in the wall.

There is an architecture he must build,

A harmony that he alone can find

Among the dazzling patterns and the hues.

His art does not condone the use of lime

Or concrete peering from each interface.

With a level eye he measures pitch and point,

An elegance creates that must endure

All seasons and the wearing down of time.

The craftsman of the drywall reigns supreme.

He works with Nature and through Nature builds

Line by line his poetry of stone.