The quarter-inch chain is wrapped around the spruce
like a Saxon’s braiding, woven on a forearm.
He throws the last length over logs hemmed in
the trailer’s iron posts which now lean out
under the weight and pitch of so much timber.
With hands caked now in pitch and fragrant sawdust,
he hooks both ends of the chain to the come-along
and pulls the lever three times with his boot
braced on the tire, locking down the gears
inside the ratchet’s oily, heavy clicks now tight
as coiled desire holding fast
to what it never wishes to let past.
Dear Reader,
Can I be direct with you?
War abroad. Socialists on the rise. AI upending human life. Endless uproar online. The modern attention economy doesn’t want readers — it wants users enslaved to the tyranny of the present.
First Things is the antidote: literary excellence, timeless truths, and a fixed point of reference in a culture that has lost its bearings.
But we can’t do it without readers like you.
Our goal: Raise $150,000 by November 1 to sustain First Things in the year ahead.
Your gift anchors readers in the permanent things.
Make your Fall Campaign gift now using the button below.
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact Giovanni Del Piero, Director of the Editor’s Circle, at gdelpiero@firstthings.com or 212-627-1985.
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