when teeth have lost their bite
and hair cannot retrieve its purchase
there’s always another decade to grind it out
juice the lying orange discard its bitter rind
dental patterns stolen lend their name
what once was soft now just residual stubble
more years to come still what must we endure
thanks sweetness, always here for me
my enamel sleeps restless until its finished
polished blades forgotten ‘neath pillboxes
crawling forward still, seems nothing’s injured?
in the darkness of my room with its own view
our ascent complete we gasp at what we see
no turning back once awe takes hold of me