Laurie Kuntz: Husband Rebuilding the Engine

He does things like that.

Oiled bolts spread on a tarp.

In old military issue coveralls,

not camouflaging his own disasters

of stalls and spills,

nuts and springs clamor

onto the belly of the engine.

I want him to seek a mechanic,

but he needs to conquer

this jetsam and flotsam of steel.

I come out, hold the hood up,

turn the key, push the pedal to the floor.

He listens for the hum, that perfect pitch

He'll spend hours doing just this.

I call him for dinner,

I call him for a bath

I call him for love,

there is no time, but this time,

watching him under a single bulb

waiting for the motor to ignite,

rebuilding all that fails him

into something that turns over and runs.

[First appeared in the collection The Moon Over My Mother's House, and in Autumn Sky Journal.]

Laurie Kuntz’s books are: That Infinite Roar, Talking Me Off The Roof,  The Moon Over My Mother’s House,  Simple Gestures, Women at the Onsen, and Somewhere in the Telling. Nominated for four Pushcart Prizes and two BOTN Prizes, she won a Pushcart Prize in 2024.  
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