Last weekend I learned to do welding. My birth father, Dave came with all of the stuff and showed me and my dad how to use an ARC welder. I learned how to lay a good "bead" before actually welding anything together. I made a rather weird sculpture probably fit for a garden. We had a bunch of scrap metal from one of my dad's friends who also does welding. He has an ARC welder and a gas welder. Dave spent the night with us. In the morning we had pancakes and then continued welding. I had actually made two sculptures that I ended up putting together. An ARC welder works by running electrical current through metal to a welding rod to melt it to the metal to stick it together. The rod is coated in flux, a substance used to cool it so the welding is easier. Here is a poem.

The Welder
A Poem by Isaac

Making a strange sculpture,
Welding gun in hand,
Grinder on the ground
Beside him,
In front of it
He stands

As he contemplates his sculpture,
He looks at the metal lying there,
Covered in rust,
He grinds it off,
Then,
Welder in hand,
He welds it on.

And he stands there looking again,
And he stands there thinking again.