SNIPPETS FROM THE FACTORY by Liu Jian

SNIPPETS FROM THE FACTORY

Liu Jian

Those drab, dull dummies of metal hide their sheen on the factory platform.

Layer upon layer, what comes to light is not their hardness,

but, in fact, inner weakness and softness.

Cast. Cut. File. Grind. There will be an end to all the work somewhere.

A well-calibrated blueprint does not indulge,

expressionless and raising no voices,

more like god’s hand of restraint and sobriety.

The hustle and bustle of rush orders. Inspections meticulous.

Invoices neatly stacked in order.

I don’t know where these products are going,

like myself, my destiny is unclear. I can see:

us and them, both are gleaming with beads of sweat,

the same kind of shine.

About the poet:

Liu Jian, male, born in the 1960s, is a native of Suining County, Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province. He is a member of the Xuzhou Writers Association. Currently, he works in Nanjing and engages in literary creation in his spare time.