by Cynthia Rylant
He went there to learn how
to give a good perm
and ended up just crazy
about nails
so He opened up His own shop.
Nails by Jim He called it.
He was afraid to call it
Nails by God.
He was sure people would
think He was being
disrespectful and using
His own name in vain
and nobody would tip.
He got into nails， of course，
because He'd always loved
hands
hands were some of the best things
He'd ever done
and this way He could just
hold one in His
and admire those delicate1
bones just above the knuckles2，
delicate as birds' wings，
and after He'd done that
awhile，
He could paint all the nails
any color He wanted，
then say，
Beautiful，
and mean it.