J. P. Smelcer/Poetry

THE GENIUS

All week I work on building the humongous contraption in my front yard. I build it out of a hundred things: the engine from a ’56 Chevy, an espresso machine, various farm equipment, a conveyor belt, two propane refrigerators, a well pump, a hot water heater with shotgun holes for ventilation, a Remington typewriter, a rusted catalytic convertor, the stained grass bag from a broken lawnmower, six wind-up alarm clocks, a fire hydrant, a vacuum cleaner, a panini press, and the internal workings of a VCR. The monstrosity looks like the Everlasting Gobstopper machine in Willy Wonka. But I think it’s beautiful. Whenever people stop to ask me what I’m doing, I tell them I’m working on my next big mistake.

About the author:
Smelcer is the author of ten books of poetry, most recently including The Binghamton Poems, selected and edited by John Updike. His poems appear in hundreds of magazines.