The Teeth of the Years
The great machinery of life
grinds in silence
while everyone inside it
disappears.
Nobody hears the little bones
of the years being chewed.
We wake up, clock in,
stand beneath the white lights
of places built to keep us busy,
then go home and call it a life.
Soon enough,
this apartment will be empty.
My good coat will hang in a charity shop,
still carrying the shape of my shoulders.
And still
you go on.
And still
you go on.
Because in the morning,
a friend laughs
while the kettle sings.
The cat curls up on your lap.
The wife kisses you
before the day takes her.
Because sometimes,
somewhere in the gears,
a hand finds you
and pulls you free.
Steven Bruce is an award-winning author whose poetry and short stories have appeared in international anthologies and magazines. He holds an MA in Creative Writing from Teesside University and explores themes of trauma, survival, and the human condition. Born in England, he now writes full-time in Poland.
