Nuts and Bolts

From nuts and bolts

To two nuts

Or two bolts...

Are you nuts?

I’m intrigued with nuts and bolts

They work so well together,

Holding firm and gripping strong

In all types of weather.

I watch the planes

As they take off,

I watch them as they land

And I am amazed

At the nuts and bolts

And how they facilitate

The engineer’s plan!

Or the ocean-going vessels

On their cruises and their trips,

And I marvel

At the nuts and bolts,

They always do the trick.

Or the cars and motorbikes

Screaming around the track

Providing entertainment

For many a fan,

And of their nuts and bolts-

There’s no lack!

So many pieces of equipment

Depend on nuts and bolts:

On the farm, in the home-

That’s no joke!

Children’s toys and computers

Air conditioners and fans,

Nuts and bolts are a way of life

In the air or on the land.

The weight they carry

Is astronomical,

But they also hold together delicate things

Just like grandma’s spectacles.

Their uses are wide and varied

They are the technicians’ friends,

Loads and loads

Of nuts and bolts

On which we all depend.

But we are seldom willing

To leave well enough alone,

We must go and spoil it

For ourselves, and everyone.

So somebody came up with the idea

Of using two bolts

When another said two nuts…

And I thought they were making sport.

But they were very serious

About separating the nuts from the bolts

And being unable to make anything

It gave everyone a jolt.

That was not the worse

They lobbied for the cause

And into the law was put

A very unnecessary clause.

But they didn’t stop there

They became more unreasonable

And since nothing they could make,

They took from the nuts and bolt people.

Nuts and bolts come in pairs

One bolt and one nut make two,

And since they are fitted for one another

They do what they are supposed to do.

Nuts and bolts are very precious

Do not tear them apart,

Two nuts or two bolts

Will never work,

Please take this to heart.

Nuts and bolts are fundamental

Even in modern engineering,

It doesn’t matter

How advanced the technology

For nuts and bolts I’ll be cheering.

Down with just nuts or just bolts!

That’s a very scary thing,

That combination holds nothing together

It is only disaster it will bring.

Uhu may hold two bolts together

Or super glue may hold two nuts

But anyone entrusting his life to such

Would have to be a simple nut.

Stewart Russell © October 2019