Austin by: Kata Fountain, Photograph, 2009.
Hemispherical
by: Leo Ortega
Sweat drips down your face
Back and neck ache from leaning over
Oil and grease on your hands
Skin missing from your knuckles
CRAFTSMAN stamped in your skin
Blood pooling from an ignored cut
Ghostly knuckles on a blistering ratchet
Praying the bolts don’t strip
Rewarding resistance when the bolts are tight
Every part in its correct place
Margin of error less than a strand of hair
Perfection a requirement
Everything works
Never any mistakes
Ecstasy for your right unleashed by your left
Exhaust and rubber mark your departure
Sit on black vinyl behind smoked windows
One key to unleash an unstoppable beast
Ultimate release from silence and darkness
Perverse pleasure beneath your foot
A devilish smile says try and stop me
If you want me come and get me
Stampeding horses silence cries of conservation
Earth chokes on your exhaust