Laughing Blue Steel
Laughing Blue Steel - meaning Summary
Companionship Through Labor
The poem contrasts images of free creatures (fish, birds) with paired chisels on an anvil, preferring to be a working tool with a companion rather than solitary or free. Through the recurring wish to be "a chisel with you," the speaker values shared labor, resilience, and the intimate bond forged by hardship. The chisels’ "laughing blue steel" suggests pleasure in transformation and solidarity under strain.
Read Complete AnalysesTWO fishes swimming in the sea, Two birds flying in the air, Two chisels on an anvil-maybe. Beaten, hammered, laughing blue steel to each other-maybe. Sure I would rather be a chisel with you than a fish. Sure I would rather be a chisel with you than a bird. Take these two chisel-pals, O God. Take 'em and beat 'em, hammer 'em, hear 'em laugh.
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