Both at once:

The smooth sleek line

of its creation on the potters wheel

and the jagged shredded edge of destruction.

The crusty vessel could have

carried water and food of people long gone

or be simply the remains of a clay flower pot

lost to a simple twist of an arching cat’s back.

From soft wet clay

into fiery heat

to a solid utility

to random deconstruction

the remains are

both at once

quiet and

so suggestive.

7/11/95