For too long unheeded, it’s time

to note their virtues: the way

they grip and take the strain;

their down-to-earth precision.

 

Gearing up doggedly, with only

occasional jolts and judders,

the odd involuntary moan,

they are truly fit for purpose,

when there’s work to do.

 

Tight-lipped and stubborn,

their staying power outlasts

newfangled knowingness,

your brittle take on a world

they alone sustain.

 

All they lack in intuition

is neither here nor there,

so long as wheels are turning

and bright contraptions sing.

 

What you have called

your bigger picture seems

to have passed them by.