Axis of Hope Prayer Wheels Contemporary ceramic prayer wheels and pottery exploring themes of hope, renewal and utility.

I have a friend, an artist,
who spins vessels of clay,
destined to hold prayers,
from mineral bits of rock and soil.

If the medium of song is air,
his medium is earth and flowing water, mountains and maples,
kingfisher and raven.

His hands hold strange tools,
small bits of metal and wood,
scrapers and ribs, needles and knives.

Late at night I imagine him,
holding an unfinished wheel,
as one would hold a baby,
while scratching a crescent moon into the sky.

Transformed by fire,
clay becomes stone,
clouds join with wood,
to shelter the space inside.

I add this poem, in gratitude,
and gently close the lid.
It is true that I love his art,
but I love him,
because he is my friend.

—Saul Weisberg