Time Watch

 

 

                         Memories selective and orderly

                         caress our childhood

                         nurtured and sheltered

                         from the shoals of strange dimension

                         time itself a kindly guardian

                         pushes the hours back

                         with a gentle shove

                         lures the bulk of us

                         into a false sense

                         before we outlive our welcome

 

 

                         This is a strange obscenity

                         when arteries wither

                         and the body slowly dies

                         leaving the mind intact

                         awareness becomes a curse

                         each layer peeled and peeled

                         we yearn for the innocence of not knowing

 

 

                         At what moment did he decide

                         our nameless God

                         of no particular denomination

                         The trickle become a torrent

                         memories fused into a long white line?

 

 

 

                                                      Jack Mashman

                                                      1989