The Buddha patiently stood across the street from the decapitated chimney

which cowered low to the houses roofline

ashamed and embarrassed

a dejected stooge

capped in blackpainted scabs of plywood 

worked in riverstone the Buddha sympathized with the chimney

itself was awkward

done in an oblong cubist or fauvist fashion

around its throat and jowls hung dead ignoble rusthued vines

neither of them stood in good stead

each was thoughtlessly executed by lummoxes who fancied themselves

a do-it-yourself carpenter  and mason

the kind who made do and done didnt give them another moments thought 

they were cheap fixes

until they crumbled or collapsed

thats what they had to look forward to 

                                                                         

ruination                                                                                                                                         

though

            if they sought to recognise a modicum of retribution

they werent far adrift from their lackluster formers

theyd probably outlast them

This afternoon   

                        their shared sentience was interrupted

invaded

off an open trailer pulled behind a passing truck  the rig struck a deep pothole

the trailer shivered and shrieked

then tumbling  bouncing  and coming to rest at the center of the poorly patched loose-gravel asphalt road

a long hex-shackled silver MASTER lock lay

                                                                 an uncinched boron-carbon keyed lock

                                                       

the Buddha  immediately  felt responsible for it

despite its forlorn condition                                                                              

                                             balancing a driveway lantern on its head

and tethered in its place by electrical wires 

the Buddha irked the chimney which already begrudged it for having a head

the locks presence felt like nothing more to it than a shallow white splinter in some fleshy part of itself

or an itch to be scratched

if it could

the Buddha comprehended the chimneys attitude   compassionately   

but against the backdrop of the road the unwary lock shone brightly in the sunlight

blinking

not realising its capacity

                                         if it fell into the wrong hands
the havoc wrecked
if it were locked onto misfortunate items or other articles were locked together
bound 

Really  What can you do about it  conveyed the chimney 

We  breathed the Buddha  can compel a just solution together

A solution 

the MASTER lock grimaced

manufactured for security  unlocked  it served no purpose

SHADDUP  nearly howled the chimney 

And what purpose is served if you are a detriment  asked the Buddha of the lock

I am used and thats all I care 

A selfish mealy thing  isnt it   asked the chimney

Perhaps  replied the Buddha  Or perhaps it is too young to appreciate its circumstances 

Give them an inch theyll take a mile
I dont see what we can do

What we can possibly accomplish

Faith my friend Faith  said the Buddha

feeling like a third wheel the MASTER lock began blinking rapidly  throwing off shards of sunlight to capture anyones someones attention

chiding the other two  Youre hens  scratching the dirt for feed as if the dirt fed you  not recognising you ate only after

the two-legged thing scattered the seeds 

the Buddha and the chimney heard as if from the same ear  A two-legged thing

Yes  a two-legged thing  they needed a two-legged thing

but the right one

one of good intentions

                                                                                                                   

they couldnt deny the MASTER its selfishness
it hadnt the capacity to recognise it might be nothing more than a tool  and that some might believe it  a quality of singlemindedness
the quality of blinkers censurers and soldiers                                

                                                                          unthinking cogs

the Buddha said they needed a two-legger   who was skeptical 

                       

Skeptical  And that feels like what  asked the chimney 

Observant  replied the Buddha 

the MASTER lock blinked rapidly

Eventually

                  small two-legged things passed  walking along the streets gutters  oblivious of its center

because cars drove quickly and impatiently between them

Blink  Blink  Blink  continued the lock  still unnoticed

then came a two-legged thing

who oddly

walked considerably away from the street gutters forcing traffic to slow down and go wide of it

seemingly daring any passing cars or trucks to strike it 

 

and if it were struck

 

content to leave a huge mess to be cleaned up

it seemed   unperturbed

the MASTER lock ceased blinking

What have we here  asked the chimney

It feels odd 

Yes  What have we here  echoed the Buddha 

it walked several paces beyond the lock as it lay docile in the street                                                       

then it paused

it took something away from its head  folded  that the Buddha mistook as a blindfold

then oblivious to any oncoming cars it crossed back picked up the MASTER

and stabbed its shackle down into it  CLICK

it locked

 

Goodness  The mischief the mischief  Did I feel the mischief go  asked the chimney 

I CLICKed  didnt I

 

Goodness  said the Buddha

Im worthless  said the lock

the two-legged thing dropped the lock back in the middle of the street and walked on

  

the chimney felt its dull boron-carbon thud on the crumbles of asphalt and gravel

Is it leaving the lock

It seems  said the Buddha  it has no use for a locked lock

                                                                                                         when the rocks that fashioned the Buddha were born

or the trees that decapitated the chimney the alloy that forged the lock or the two-legged thing were born

Memory  remembered  formed the parcels of their devotion

continuing up the roads slight inclined  continuing to read

the two-legged thing absently reasoned with the gnawing at the back of its mind

that unless it had the key  it had no use for the lock

                                                                                     even if years earlier out of necessity 

a lock in a sock made a nifty blackjack

 

Thursday afternoon idea,  16  4. 15

0024,  Sunday,  19  4. 15