Blacksmith's Vice Poem by Christopher Tye

Blacksmith's Vice

Big heavy lumps of metal,
Legged vices a mark of the blacksmith,
Always substantially built for hard work,
Clamping heavy iron for working,
Keeping things in place as the hammer hits,
Smithy's workbenches always had one,
Mounted by three big bolts to the bench,
Inserted by it's leg into the ground,
Toughest of all the vices for working,
Historic relics of a world slowly disappearing,
So remember the craftsmen of the good old days.

Vices aplenty I have but just two of this vice,
Imagine the history these vices have seen,
Countryside traditions all but gone,
English forge's are now a rare thing.

By Christopher Tye