Manual Labor

Before all that,

I have to build the house. 

It doesn’t count 

unless I put my hands into it 

acknowledge the soil

clear the dirt away 

don the workman wear 

squint at the blueprint 

keep the support beams level 

carry it to term 

swallow the guilt

with my back.

I must do the research myself 

embody my ancestors 

figure out what it means 

to be home 

versus what it means 

to have structure. 

If God wanted me to have air conditioning, 

He’d have planted air conditioning seeds,

or shown me Himself 

how to harvest the copper

inject the coolant 

pick up hot air 


force it to be cold. 

Here’s a tip: 

If you can think it 

you can be it

but there’s much in this world 

ill-conjured. 

Oh God

can you imagine 

how careful we would be 

if we had to know where 

we came from.