Grandpa's 1950's DeWalt Radial Arm Saw

dusty garage and rusty
tools left lying
when his day declined to armchair sitting

i took home the saw
i remembered huge in grandpa's
thick hands

late into the night
under the blare of worklight bulb
i worked joints and oiled wheels
turned the old-fashioned key start
carbide teeth clanged and rang
purred
and how i recall the sound striking childish ears
grandpa's voice:
let me tell you,
i made a lot of things with that saw
the whir is sharp again
she rips through test wood
it'll cut any angle you can think of
any angle you can think of

grandpa, cells breaking
i healed that old beast
with spit and oil and fingers
raw
she rips through wood
we will build some things
i promise you