DIY

This is the result of the lyric-writing workshop I attended at FenCon. The topic was do-it-yourself. This is dedicated to my daughter.

My father was building another antenna
To capture the signals from some satellite.
It turns out he'd purchased more stuff than he needed
He gave my his extras to my great delight.
He loaned me his tools and he taught me to solder
And said that I'd better not leave any mess.
I knew that I'd use everything that he gave me,
But just what I'd make would be anyone's guess.

I had copper wire, a few scraps of plywood,
An assortment of hardware, an old fitted sheet.
I snipped and I soldered; I drilled and I threaded
Until my contraption was nearly complete.
I needed to locate a few holey stockings--
I came up with seven but six was just right.
I found some pink twine and I cut off a few feet
And tied up the ends of my new dragon kite.

But when I was done it was nearly my bedtime.
(Bedtime seems earlier when the week ends).
The first thing I did on the following morning
Was take my new dragon to show all my friends.
They wouldn't believe it; they laughed when they saw it.
But I reassured them that my kite would fly.
We went to the parking lot next to my grade school.
My dragon rose up and then fell from the sky.

It shattered to pieces upon the cold concrete--
A tangle of wire, wood, fabric and strings.
Though I knew my kite couldn't be reassembled
The scraps could be used to make other neat things.
I figured that next time I'd be more successful;
My dragon kite failure was only a fluke.
I might find an engine and build a new rocket--
And get some plutonium, make it a nuke.

Author's Note

Scans to "Generations of Change"

Reviews

[W.k.kortas]

Winsome, wistful, and gentle. Nice stuff, indeed.