Tag Archives: discovery

Things I learnt in machine shop

Hard things are strong
Hard to cut
Hard to bend
But hard things break
Make a mistake
And it will shatter
Leaving shrapnel splatter
Everywhere
Go slow as you shape
Take only little pieces away at a time
Take care to lubricate
As you get down on the grind
Go too fast the pieces will fly
At very fatal speeds
Rip through your body
Before you even start to bleed
Heat your metal
And when you cool it slow
it will bend easily to your will
Whichever way you want it to go
But heat your metal
And cool it fast
It will get hard and strong
But can break like glass
Be careful with your material
Temper it well
Pay attention to its sounds
Be aware of the smells

All these things I learnt
Working in the shop
Working with machine,
Chopping metal blocks
But you could learn that too
If you really wanted
Humans and metals are similar
I thought you should know.

April 28, 2009

Find Me

Like Hansel and Gretel I leave you crumbs,
Follow the path you’ll find me
There with Sherlock we will search in tandem
With looking glass and look-in glass we will scour the surface of my soul
and pick with axes to get to the core
Excavate the buried good within
Beneath the rotting corpse of skin
Evil flesh that reeks of human imperfection
That does not what I will it
That acts out it basest and basic
That burns and burns
Leaving a trail of burnt offerings to demigods and goddesses
That stops short of fulfilment
for lack of direction or lack of directness
That suffers mediocrity in silent indignation
In silence that engulfs and smothers
that becomes the cha cha cha of tongues untied
that becomes the assassin of soul
Find me in the desolation of this world
hidden untouched and unscathed but buried
waiting for your hand to reach down and pull me out
that we may dance the hustle all night long
round and round to every song
every tune of every tempo
let us dance like no one is watching
like everyone is watching
for an audience of 2
for a stadium of more
let us dance
with lions nipping at our heels
with dissenters pelting us with rocks
with cheerleaders egging us on
let us dance
find me in my cave and make my one two
And our two one
Find me and see me
And unite our purposes to one fight
Find me and take me to that place you whispered softly into my dreams
That place that is only in my dreams
Take me there
I leave you bread crumbs
tiny but distinct
follow me to my hiding place
then take me away

(jan 15, 2009)