our dryer door would not close
the plastic lock had broken from brittleness

we bought it used twenty years ago
with a washer from a laundromat
metal giants made to withstand abuse
at four quarters and forty minute runs

my father tried to pull it shut
with bungie cord and hooks
wrapped around the doorknob
and brackets along the back wall

but force can only lead to strain

so i substituted his hooks and cord
with a small and strong magnet
placed where a tiny phillips screwhead
inside the door, kisses the steel frame