Pottery lesson: First, center the clay.
Brace your weight. Press in, lean hard--like this--to make it stay.
Bombs are falling, but they are falling far away.

Cone up, push it back.
Blade of your palm to make it flat.
Yes, I saw the smoke in the distance. Now we must not think of that.

Drill a hole, pull the walls. Raise them tall.
Every border eventually falls.
The wheel spins and spins, but when the clay is centered, it appears to not be moving at all.

Let the form become fragile, bone-dry.
Into the kiln: turn it molten. Why?
To harden past the breaking point, it must first liquify.

Mix the glaze. Dip. Back into fire.
Set the temperature higher.
Not all forms survive the blaze, but we may aspire.

The cycle is done. Open the kiln.
Yes, I hear the soldiers’ boots, their shouts so shrill.
I lift this cup to your mouth to share the water we have filled.
Remember your lessons. The world spins and spins, but we are sitting perfectly still.