Hardware

My father always knew the secret

name of everything—

stove bolt and wing nut,

set screw and rasp, ratchet

wrench, band saw, and ball—

peen hammer. He was my

tour guide and translator

through that foreign country

with its short-tempered natives

in their crewcuts and tattoos,

who suffered my incompetence

with gruffness and disgust.

Pay attention, he would say,

and you'll learn a thing or two.

Now it's forty years later,

and I'm packing up his tools

(If you know the proper

names of things you're never

at a loss) tongue-tied, incompetent,

my hands and heart full

of doohickeys and widgets,

whatchamacallits, thingamabobs.

"Hardware" by Ronald Wallace from Time's Fancy.

© University of Pittsburgh Press, 1994