{"id":7858,"date":"2023-05-12T02:05:00","date_gmt":"2023-05-12T02:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/?p=7858"},"modified":"2024-03-11T20:36:54","modified_gmt":"2024-03-11T20:36:54","slug":"the-toolbox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farefwd.com\/index.php\/2023\/05\/12\/the-toolbox\/","title":{"rendered":"The Toolbox"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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The Toolbox<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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by James E. Cherry<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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The final hours of the year fall,
robe me in twilight
beneath the hood of an eight-year-old
BMW. My oil-stained fingers slip
between shifting shadows, fumbles
fading afternoon light. I kiss<\/p>

the skinned knuckles on my left hand,
curse the standard socket in my right,
stomp into the corner of the garage, disrupt
the order of solitude with slamming
drawers, rummaged contents.<\/p>

Top shelf, right corner: just within reach
on tip toes and the touch of fingertips:
a toolbox. I blow cobwebs
from its metallic heaviness, mites confetti
around my head, rub my hand across its lid
and faded black letters. My father\u2019s name.<\/p>

Three syllables. My fingers recite
the name\u2014my name too\u2014over and over.
I have carried his name across the earth
for six decades. I trace each letter on the box
and from forty-one years of dust rise
the rhythm of his voice and steady footfalls,
the courage of his calloused hands,<\/p>

his weathered character and dignified deathbed.
I flip the latch, raise the lid.
Turtleneck sweaters, Old Spice, Jack Daniels
and light escapes, reminds me
that I have everything
I will ever need to finish the job.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Photo by Roseanna Smith on Unsplash<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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James E. Cherry<\/strong>‘s latest poetry can be found or is forthcoming in Southern Indiana Review<\/em>, Birmingham Poetry Review<\/em>, and Black Fire This Time<\/em>, an anthology. Cherry is the author of three collections of poetry, two novels, and a collection of short fiction.\u00a0His novel\u00a0Edge of the Wind<\/em>\u00a0was re-released in 2022 from Stephen F. Austin State University Press. He has an MFA in creative writing from the University of Texas at El Paso and resides in Jackson, Tennessee, where he serves as president of The Griot Collective of West Tennessee, a poetry workshop.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Toolbox
\nBy James E. 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