Sean West
The Iron Giant Expands His Vocabulary
I peer up at him, sitting safely
cradled in his junkyard nest.
I teach him about entropy,
introducing him to the concept
of mortality.
He mumbles the names
of his favorite superheroes,
cogs twisting & turning in throat
with the mechanical weight of the effort.
I reiterate. Enlightening him
with rust, varnishing him with salt-
encrusted wisdom. Metals will oxidize,
colorize, crumple. He will perish,
fall apart or implode into shrapnel,
punch a missile, save us all someday.
I hold up a piece of what was once
something. Nothing innovative or
brave anymore. But a rusted relic
rotting in a junkyard in the woods.
His headlight eyes flicker, blink, consider.
He repeats my name in a pleading tone.
He is still not getting it, so I curl up
in the palm of his gargantuan hand. He
raises it before him, pulling me closer to his tin
can body. I point a finger at his chest. Pressing
against cool iron exoskeleton. Tell him
to repeat after me: entropy. Entropy.
He says his favorite superhero is Superman.
He never read the one where Superman dies.
I peer up at him, sitting safely
cradled in his junkyard nest.
I teach him about entropy,
introducing him to the concept
of mortality.
He mumbles the names
of his favorite superheroes,
cogs twisting & turning in throat
with the mechanical weight of the effort.
I reiterate. Enlightening him
with rust, varnishing him with salt-
encrusted wisdom. Metals will oxidize,
colorize, crumple. He will perish,
fall apart or implode into shrapnel,
punch a missile, save us all someday.
I hold up a piece of what was once
something. Nothing innovative or
brave anymore. But a rusted relic
rotting in a junkyard in the woods.
His headlight eyes flicker, blink, consider.
He repeats my name in a pleading tone.
He is still not getting it, so I curl up
in the palm of his gargantuan hand. He
raises it before him, pulling me closer to his tin
can body. I point a finger at his chest. Pressing
against cool iron exoskeleton. Tell him
to repeat after me: entropy. Entropy.
He says his favorite superhero is Superman.
He never read the one where Superman dies.
Sean West is an Australian-born, Brisbane-based student of creative writing. He is also a regular speaker at Ruckus poetry slams, where he moonlights under the alias of “Mariah” and occasionally dances to Mariah Carey tunes. His poetry and fiction has been published or is forthcoming in the Redlitzer Anthology, IBIS and The Tundish Review. This is his first American publication and he's very excited about it. You can find more of his various experimental writings on his blog @theseshadowsbite.wordpress.com.