Hardware is magic

 

Hardware is Magic

Hardware is magic
only wizards can work.

Molly bolts that fold and … sproing.
Chain goes clank. Pulleys go squeak.
Eye bolts, what vision do they seek?

Faucet handles like fingers of porcelain.
Tiny springs from ballpoint pens—they fly!
Big springs from some old bed—they bounce!

Ornate doorknobs to open a mystery.
Spark plugs. Radiator caps. Just add car.
Wing nuts—perhaps they’ll flap and soar.
Hinges—just add door.

Curtain cleats like horns from a shrunken ox.
Accumulated over years to this box
in coffee cans, in jelly jars
for the purpose I knew would come.

Now, my grandson.
I can see in your eyes you are ready.
For you, cheerful wizard.
Make magic.

……

First published in Your Daily Poem— thank you editor Jayne Jaudon Ferrer