Ode to a Magnetic Screwdriver

If the part that screws
is the head — this X-
shaped tip — then
the other end must be
tail: the shaft rooted
in transparent sun-
colored plastic like
an insect in amber.
And considering how
the power drill
with screwdriver bit
has replaced it,
this might as well be
a relic from
the Mesozoic.
The tip attracts
anything steel, but
can only solve for x,
descending into
the head of the screw
like a spirit
into someone possessed,
spinning like a purpose-
driven whirlwind
in a desert of wood,
inclining ever so slightly
toward magnetic north.

10 Replies to “Ode to a Magnetic Screwdriver”

  1. Dang! I love these tool poems! Who would have thought the humble tool had so much metaphor in him. Too many favorite lines..too little time.. but as a benighted user of the “age of faith” hand screwdriver, I can relate to everything said and wish I had said any one of those things. “insect in amber”, “solve for x” , “purpose driven whirlwind in a desert of wood”. Am also seriously checking while on my next project to see if I’m inclined toward magnetic north. When does the book come out? I need to save up.

  2. I love “can only solve for X” and “like a purpose-/ driven whirlwind” and “inclining ever so slightly / toward magnetic north.” Great hints of Christian imagery in this one — the tilted cruciform of X, the hint of “purpose-driven life,” age of faith and someone possessed and even the desert reference. Nice.

  3. Joan – I’m glad this one resonated with you. I still use screwdrivers, too – in fact, I used one today, prompted by the poem, to remove my bathroom drain. That was when I realized that the poem took a decidedly limited view of the screwdriver’s applications: it ain’t just wood, and it ain’t just screwing in. But then of course realism was never the point, was it?

    Rachel – Thanks. My first draft was more explicitly Christian – and probably a lot less fun. Best not to over-determine things with these tool odes, since one of the main ideas is to try and liberate tools from their narrowly defined roles.

  4. Thanks, Dick. I’m glad this one worked for you.

    Joe – I should probably know what a ratchet screw driver is, but I’m afraid I don’t. Sounds intriguing.

    I’ve been debating whether I should write about the Yankee push drill – I’m afraid that might be too obscure, too. As it is, my “hand truck” threw several people for a loop.

  5. A ratchet screwdriver allows you, by means of a ratchet mechanism, to fit the blade into the head of the screw and simply push forward. The head of the screw is then rotated by the forward motion alone, which is repeted until the screw is tightened or loosened. I have had one for years and found that because it provides extra purchase can be particularly useful with intractable screws.

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