Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “Edge Work” by Tyler & Dobby.

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Edge Work

By Tyler & Dobby

Morning keeps the wood

where I left it—

logs cut to length,

frost loosening.

I set the block level,

draw the file once,

then again.

Stone circles

until the edge agrees.

Birch first.

I turn the grain,

lift from the ground,

let it fall true.

The halves slide apart

like they already knew.

Dobby circles once,

chooses shade,

one eye on my boots.

The work finds a meter—

lift, drop, step, set—

chips jump and lie still,

steel saying yes                                     

without a word.

I know each by weight:

fence line, windthrow, gate tree—

the days we dragged them home

written in my shoulders.

Knots argue,

then let go.

What won’t open now

I set aside

for later truth.

I stack as I go—

rows crossed for air,

ends cribbed tight—

a wall that promises heat

and keeps it.

Pitch maps my palm.

Old callus wakes.

The handle shines

where my hands live.

By late light

before and after

stand together:

what waited,

what is ready.

I touch the new wall.

It says nothing,

holds everything.

Dobby leans her shoulder

into my leg.

We turn for the door,

good-tired,

pine in the cloth,

and the wood stays

to do its job.

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Copyright © Tyler & Dobby

Tyler & Dobby (Tyler Vaughan McQuade) is a Canadian poet and maker. He writes about long roads, wilderness work, grief, and the bond with his French bulldog, Dobby. The Long Way Home is his debut. He lives on the road.

Dobby is a French bulldog, vigilant night watch, and co-author of the Dobby Tales. She keeps the snacks honest and the road moving.

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