It was a childhood hobby

carried out first 

on the kitchen table

then in his room,

his shed,

his workshop.

He left childhood behind

but never moved on from his hobby.

Meccano and Leggo had their time

but Frankie left them behind

and began his collection

of bits and pieces

that might be useful

a bit of wood or metal,

plastic, nails, screws, rivets, wire,

Frankie kept them all

for his creations

his men and machines.

The boats and planes and trains

had had their time long ago.

Now it was the human form for him,

not the outer veneer

but what lies under the skin.

He studied the complex joints

and carefully fitted their metal muscles

and wired them with nerve-like fibres.

All that was needed now was the skin.

Carefully Frankie began to put it in place.

Soon his creation would raise its head 

and open its eyes,

then it would be ready,

ready to go.

Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash

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Lynn White lives in north Wales. Her work is influenced by issues of social justice and events, places and people she has known or imagined. She is especially interested in exploring the boundaries of dream, fantasy and reality. She was shortlisted in the Theatre Cloud ‘War Poetry for Today’ competition and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net,  and a Rhysling Award. Her poetry has appeared in many publications including: Apogee, Firewords, Capsule Stories, Light Journal and So It Goes. Find Lynn at: Poetry – Lynn White and Facebook.