The Bolts

The bolts have backed out of the engine mounts
lost along the road
so that now each time I shift
the torque bucks the engine forward.
The starter hangs out like a seppuku gut
gears touching enough to grind
which is why the car would not turn over
to get me out of this rut...

As an acquaintance once described smoking black tar, "I seem to go away for a while only to realize I am still sitting at the kitchen table".