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.