I went to Ace Hardware for one
small screw and left with a whole new
understanding of quantum physics.
The guy in the red vest said take your time.
I kept comparing metal things to
other metal things. None of them
were the right little bastard. I
held up two packets and said
what’s the difference, my guy, and he
shrugged and said, uh. I laughed so hard
I almost accidentally tripped over a drill.
Sometimes a stranger says one correct thing
and your whole day lights up.
Sometimes a friend does one bad thing
and your whole week goes to shit.
That day, it was raining in that way
where the sky looks expansive, holy.
I sat in my car and watched drops
hit the windshield like tiny little no-no-no’s.
I still can’t remember what the screw
was for in the first place, only that
something in my life had come loose
and for twelve dollars and eighty
cents I got close to fixing it.
