Purpose Poem by JAMES T. ADAIR

I pounded down repeatedly with the heavy metal pry bar
Smasing shoebox sized shale rocks into small stones
The smell of the rock strewn earth felt acrid in my nostrils
Irritated my eyes as it mixed with salty sweat
Pouring from my eyebrows into my eyes like tears
Which I wiped by flexing my shoulders to my eyes, alternately
Bending down to clean out the jagged rock and debris
The cool rocky earth was scooped by hand
spread like browning mix in an oblong pan
Picking up the heavy 6 X 6 railroad tie I smashed it down
With two hands, into the evenly spread soil
Switching to sledge hammer
Placed a 18 inch piece of steel rebar into hole pre-drilled
Raised the sledge overhead and slammed it down full-force
Hitting the metal spike and driving it repeatedly down
Until it struck rock or root and resisted
Resulting in more brute force untile the spike continued through
Such was the process of laying steps, one by one
Up the hill, leading to the back porch of the house
Resting against a tree for a moment
I realized that in those moments I thought of nothing else
Just the physical work at hand
But there was a purpose
And that's what's been missing......