How erasers are made

In the factory the workers
dump chemicals into vats,
adding a quality of denial
thought problematical
in some circles.

The product is rolled into
long cylinders, then broken
into formal eraser-lengths
by men who wear tall hats
and speak only to one another.

In the arts section, large
eraser pies are formed, then
cut into rectangles by
disks that spin with a
sound like vacation.

Other eraser shapes are made
in rooms without windows.
It was recently ruled deceptive
to make an eraser in the
shape of a heart.

Erasers leave the factory
in small trucks, and enter
the stores before dawn,
packaged in colorful promises
few of them can keep.

Published in: Olympia Review
© 1994, Olympia, WA.