SCREWS • by Larry Anderson

I used to apply too much torque with a screwdriver.
My father said ‘don’t reef on it.’ I didn’t listen.

Reefing became a way of life.
I stripped many screws :
family, friends, work, health–
my creativity and spirit.

I learned the meaning of ‘screwed up’ relaxed,
and turned lightly with the world.
Now, when I meet new people, I tell
them I have loose screws.

Larry Anderson is a retired college professor, relatively new to poetry. He has published poems in a couple of online journals. Writing poetry is very rewarding. Poetic ideas bounce around his head most days–he loves it! For this retiree, writing beats playing golf.

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SCREWS • by Larry Anderson, 3.2 out of 5 based on 13 ratings
Posted on December 8, 2008 in Poems
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9 Responses to “SCREWS • by Larry Anderson”


  1. Robin Herrnfeld Says:
    December 8th, 2008 at 1:12 am

    Pretty screwy here! I really like the image of the person as a screw, turning through life:
    “and turned lightly with the world”. Nice.

  2. Oonah V Joslin Says:
    December 8th, 2008 at 1:50 am

    Better a bit loose than cracked up eh? ;)

  3. dellfarmer Says:
    December 8th, 2008 at 1:55 am

    Congratulations- not only for keeping your screws loose, but for writing about it so well.

  4. K.C. Ball Says:
    December 8th, 2008 at 2:28 am

    Very nice anology, Larry. It made me chuckle and then to say, “Oh, yeah.”

  5. Joan Says:
    December 8th, 2008 at 1:03 pm

    Very clever! I love the way it’s sustained throughout. I didn’t know the word ‘reef’ in that context – I do now! I like the idea of stripping many screws. Great!

  6. R Jay Slais Says:
    December 8th, 2008 at 3:51 pm

    zEnjoyed this smiling poem with a little lesson also. Congrats on your publication at EDPs!

  7. rumjhum Says:
    December 9th, 2008 at 12:34 am

    Very nice. I liked the way you carried the analogy through to the end.

  8. Karen W Says:
    December 9th, 2008 at 10:44 am

    Larry – it takes a screwed up person to know another one – and let me tell you, you’re screwed up (in a good way!) Great poem.

  9. Paul Hutchinson Says:
    March 12th, 2010 at 5:35 pm

    This poem has hidden power, remorse and irony blended.
    It is light verse but it is something else, too. It’s
    like a Hemingway paragraph from IN OUR TIME, I think.

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