Lost parts
Philip Hanft


First, a nut drops off.
 
​Then a washer.
 
A bolt slips out of its hole.
 
A gear gets out of alignment and grinds to a halt.
 
A computer chip fries.
 
Another bolt, nut, washer, gear.
 
Pretty soon I’m leaving behind
a trail of cast off parts from the original me,
once shiny and perfect,
now cratered with rust and turned black with decades old grease.
 
The years are unforgiving.
Things fall apart.
 
Unfortunately, unlike a hex screw,
you can’t replace a hip with a trip to the hardware store.
 

                                                                                    ~ ~ ~
​                                                                                                                 SEPT 2026