right hand pointing

Knot, a hard word to write, the small K silent but demanding. Four strokes, three changes of direction, down-up, out-in, out-and-down. Knots, bumps of wood where branches join the trunk, where the saw bounces off, every stroke’s intention deflected and sent away elsewhere. See how knots make a body:  Turk’s Head has a Hole-in-the-Head, the Eye Splice. Throat Knots clutched between Cat’s Paw and Monkey’s Paw. Underhand Shank balances Underwriter’s Shank. Sheep Shank ends in a Lark’s Foot.

Hear the power of knots, handed down in names:  Widow-Maker, God-Forsaker, Meet-Your-Maker, Phantom-Staker, Square Slip Reef and Thief and Granny.