Gabe Redel's Blog: FRYING POTATOES BLOG - Posts Tagged "robot"

Standing behind this machine
burns the highest points of my face.
The peach fuzz on my cheek bones
has left as smoke, much like the smoke
that rises from the over-worked pistons.

Heat, fury, fire spill around my teeth,
muttering shouts from balled fists.

Skeletons of dried robots hang on the wall,
once prizes, once diamonds, once the only love in life.

I have to protect my eyes
to keep the fire from damaging them further
than what the beating arms
of the machines have already done.

The last parts drop. Slowly, they roll over the ramp
and stick against the drill as if they were
the black oil that goops in the corners.

I’ve had breakdowns, many breakdowns.
My interest in the work has dropped
and all I yearn for is home, a hug
from something other than cut hands.
They tell me that once you’ve come to this place you don’t leave.
They make it sound like a horror story.

I feel the mutilation behind the metal guard.
I lower my head as every man, broken man, has done,
and I search in the dark of my mind
for the power switch to turn on a light.

What I’ve been waiting for
is on the other side of the wall where the dead robots hang.
A bedroom with open windows
welcomes the cool breeze.

by Gabe Redel