The Assembly Line Flow

The Assembly Line Flow

Steel slab after steel slab

guided, slid, shoved

into a push press

expected to deliver 

on loose screws and bolts,

thirty seconds of ear-shattering bangs per sheet.

Bang!

Bang!

Eyes, mind closed to own smoke— 

Overheat— 

but maintain top speed.

Slow down, breathe— 

become obsolete.

Move and manufacture, 

produce and progress

till guide, slide, shove

devolves to push, pull, 

snap back on a fallen piece

Till each steel slab 

on assembly line's flow

spawns a sob 

masquerading as a rattled screech. 

Bang!

Bang!

till screaming prayers to remain composed— 

on shifts one through three— 

looped on an endless repeat.

About the Author: Born and raised in Los Angeles, Michael Roque discovered his love for poetry and prose amid friends on the bleachers of Pasadena City College. Now he currently lives in the Middle East and is being inspired by the world around him. His poems have been published by literary magazines like Cholla Needles, The New Yorker, The Literary Hatchet and others. 

Image: Unsplash, downloaded (https://unsplash.com/photos/a-close-up-of-a-stack-of-poker-chips-pNqyWZk2pOQ) 22. 1. 2025.

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