intelligence test
here’s the problem:
the clock on my nightstand is broken.
the minute & hour hands have somehow
curved up, trapping the second hand as
it vainly struggles to revolve around the clockface.
i like the clock. it looks good and has sentimental value.
but it just sits there, quietly and slowly ticktickticking away,
going nowhere, correct only twice a day.
there is something bleak for me in the sound of ticking clocks.
partly, i associate them with my scottish grandmother’s house -
scratchy wool blankets, cold rooms, relentless ticking.
i can always spot one, no matter how quiet.
while Sitting in bed the other morning, the clock's meager declarations
suddenly caught my ear. although a very quiet clock, it was distracting.
so i smothered it under a pillow.
two days ago i removed it from the bedroom,
randomly placing it on the chest of drawers near the bathroom.
but i could still hear the damn thing whenever i walked by.
if you said “just remove the battery,” then you got there before me.
.
