I.D. Smallwood, Makers, B’ham England

Well and truly deceased now
these makers of a brass swivel ruler,
Two lengths etched in inches
1 to 12 rotate to 24.
Alive in memories, the ruler,
unlike the sawmiller.
Measurement was precise,
Positioning the serrated teeth
of embedded circular saw
to slice, or seem to slice
pungent peach tree logs
creating 4 b 2s perhaps…
Phrases metric-killed but resonant still
‘longside Frost’s malevolent buzz saw.
Poetic pragmatism similar
to my khaki-clad bushman
hat floppy on baldness,
strong, sawdust-stained hands
manipulating ruler-technology
’neath rusting corrugated iron roof.