No Winners Here

Fists fly quick and skin turns red,

words like jagged glass unsaid.

Bruises bloom on knuckles tight,

day’s fading light a dull spotlight.

I stand, frozen, heart in shock,

fresh pain that time can’t unlock.

No cheers ring out, no trophies given,

just angry mouths and spirits riven.

Life’s a fight without a prize,

a knock that doesn’t let you rise.

And when it’s done, the cold still stays—

a bruised pulse in tired days.