Hello to All of you cozied up to the bar in the dVerse Poets Pub. Lisa here to offer you finely crafted eats and drinks while you ponder the prompt for Tuesday’s Poetics.

Because it is election day in the U.S. you might think the prompt could be about the craftiness of politicians – and it could be for some poets – but what I’m sharing here is more about craft and craftsmanship (they need to come up with another, androgynous term for it.) We look at, and engage with, craft and craftsmanship all of the time without consciously thinking about it most of the time. It is one of the things humans do best. Looking for definitions, I found:

Dictionary.com gives these 3 options as definitions of craftsmanship:
the art or skill of a craftsperson.
the quality of being well-crafted or well-built.
the product or result of skilled labor or craft.

Another site gives craft three meanings:
an object made with skill
a vehicle for traveling on water or through air
an individual who makes objects in a skilled way

So, it is a noun or a verb and is closely linked to artistic, creative expression. Right up the poets’ alley. It was easy to find poems that talk about crafts and craftspersonship. 

The first poem feels it is almost certainly about crafting a poem.

The Craftsman
By Marcus B. Christian

I ply with all the cunning of my art
This little thing, and with consummate care
I fashion it—so that when I depart,
Those who come after me shall find it fair
And beautiful. It must be free of flaws—
Pointing no laborings of weary hands;
And there must be no flouting of the laws
Of beauty—as the artist understands.
 
Through passion, yearnings infinite—yet dumb—
I lift you from the depths of my own mind
And gild you with my soul’s white heat to plumb
The souls of future men. I leave behind
This thing that in return this solace gives:
“He who creates true beauty ever lives.”

The next poem talks about crafting in a cultural way that seems larger than just one Tribe’s work. It feels like the craftsperson is talking about the human tribe.

Craft 
by William Pitt Root

Back at the rectangular harbor
sheltered by its groins of stone
mist, I knew, still would be rising
from spaces left by fishing boats
well before dawn, as this was
the annual one-day Halibut season
when men made or lost a fortune,
but just a hundred yards inland
among the looming Sitka spruce
older than their namesakes by 
many centuries, there was sunlight
on the wood-carver’s shoulder
and starlight in his voice.
He chanted one of the songs
of his people, over and over
under his breath.  A song
for carving totems – for Wolf
and Raven, Eagle, Salmon -- 
a song for the carver carving.
The place was a native museum
where the carver wore jeans and
a flannel shirt, even a watch
“so I’ll know when to break.”
He answered several questions
during the casual half hour
before I asked if he ever tired
of carving the same traditional
totem over and over, if ever
he thought of starting one new.
The smell of cedar rose from
his blade, he smiled, the adze
raised a few more curls. “One day
a new dreamer will come among
the People – there will be fish
again, and game, and new stories
to show us once more a path
of light through the darkness.
Then, yes, there will be new totems.
“Meanwhile,” he said, resuming
his task, “we tread water,
we keep the tools sharp.”

We have come to a place where you may choose to put your proverbial pen to paper and let the muse speak. Your challenge today is to use one or more of the definitions of craft or craftspersonship that have been given and write a poem in any format or length you choose.

Alternate prompt: craft a new person, place, or thing, name it, and share it with us. I’m excited at the thought of reading about a creation that can light a way for us through the darkness.

New to dVerse? Here’s how to join in:
•  Write a poem in response to the challenge.
•  Enter a link directly to your poem and your name by clicking Mr. Linky below and remember to check the little box to accept the use/privacy policy.
•  You will find links to other poets and more will join so please do check back later in order to read their poems.
•  Read and comment on other poets’ work– we all come here to have our poems read.

Prompt is open until Thursday at 3pm

Images (click on images above to enlarge them)

DG Flugzeugbau Glider :  The copyright holder of this work allows anyone to use it for any purpose including unrestricted redistribution, commercial use, and modification.

Totem pole: One of the many Native Alaskan totem poles on display at Sitka National Historical Park, Alaska. Photograph by Robert A. Estremo, copyright 2005.This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license.