Hardware Frank

Neighbors ask him about
plugs, wires, hammers,
and paint. He tells them how

to install air-conditioners, spends
hours in Liden Bros. Hardware Store:
wooden floors, the smell

of drowsing tools. Some visit
cemeteries and remember
the dead. Frank doesn't go

unless Trina makes him. He
prefers aisles with ten different
styles of bolts, holds each

to the light to make sure it's
just right, goes home to make
something that works, even

for a while, till it breaks and he
has to hunt down more parts,
tougher tools.