The hammer and the rusting nail
Lay on the shelf within the shed,
They did not speak or even glance
Each day to them a strain,
The hammer knew he had the strength
To bend and break the rusting nail
Or drive it firmly into wood
To not be seen again.
The rusting nail for small in size
Was sure he was no match for him,
And lived in fear that one day soon
That he would meet his end,
He prayed that day would not arrive
And would be left to live in peace,
To look out of the window there
And one day be his friend.
The hammer longed for him to go
And wanted all the wooden shelf,
To call his own and not to share
Yet all he tried did fail,
Each day he left and did return
And after toiling many hours,
Was placed upon the same old spot
Beside the rusting nail.
One day a man did take the nail
From off the shelf where it had lain,
So many years there undisturbed
And held it to the wall,
He drove it hard into the frame
Beside the window in the shed,
And hung the hammer on it then
So that it would not fall.
From that day on in harmony
The hammer and the rusting nail,
Lived side by side and made a vow
Of friendship strong and true,
The hammer knew without the nail
That he would fall down to the ground,
The nail free to live in peace
To gaze upon the view
ANDREW BLAKEMORE
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-hammer-and-the-rusting-nail/
