Jesus Collected a Barrel of Opinions at the Cooper's Union Meeting

wet coopers
made barrels
for liquids, that
guild Jesus knew
well, a tradition since
the birth of Christ,

dry coopers
made barrels
for dry goods,
nails, flour, sugar,
opinions and apples,

Jesus split the
wood along the
grain, staves were
less likely to warp,
Jesus used his muscle
on a side ax to narrow the
ends of the rough staves before
a trip to the shaving horse done
strictly by eye, then the coopers
attached truss hoops that pulled the
whole thing together,

inshaves,
downshaves,
barrel head,
permanent iron
hoops over each
end for a watertight
fit,

the biblical
two-wheeled
chariot had no
springs, Jesus
had a rough riding
contraption on the best
of roads, good thing he
nailed the lid tight on the
barrel he collected of opinions
at the cooper's union meeting.

Copyright 5.14.2010 Ms. Sage Sweetwater, firebrand lesbian novelist