Days can be timeless or cruelly short
Depending on the clock face
A chronological cluster bomb
Composed of quartz and a leather strap
That gradually tightens on the wrist

The hands tick forward relentlessly
Propelling the prisoner into the future
Away from a past to which they may never return
The batteries relinquish their life force
The chiming of impermanence becomes still

Nature’s revolution slows and finally fades away
It is the end of days

© Tom McCarthy