When I was very young I had a pair

Of plastic scissors

They were round tipped

Perfectly safe

More a toy than tool

When I grew up a little bit I got a pair

Of metal scissors

They were round tipped

A reasonably safe

Fledgling’s tool

When I grew a little more I got to use a pair

Of metal scissors

That had sharp points

With sharp edges

To cut neatly with a child’s accuracy

My colorful collages of circles and triangles

Squares and hearts

Then I got to help mom with her quilting

A new kind of scissors…pinking shears

With funny serrated teeth

To cut the cloth into coarse edged patches

A colorful collage of circles and triangles

Squares and checkerboarded gingham hearts

I went away to college and found another kind

Medical scissors

Clamps actually, that just looked like scissors

They were functionally the best roach clip ever created

A multi-purpose tool

That helps mend both bodily ailments and bad attitudes

This just proves doctors are smart people

Eventually I traded up to more manly scissors

Aviation snips, combination shears that

Right cut, left cut, or straight cut

To tailor sheet metal and mesh and wire

Into a functional collage of ducts and boxes

And sturdy garden’s guardians

Now I just cut coupons on Sundays

Scissors with titanium edged blades

To cleanly and concisely retrieve them

From the center of the newspaper

To create a valuable collage of $crip

That awes my local grocery checker each week

A tool for someone with toys in the attic

Copyright 2012 Patrick Granfors