In our childhood living room
We counted the clocks
The grandfather, the one on the mantle
The two my dad built
One for me and one for my brother
And more, more than you’d think
The tick toks collided, a symphony
One time my brother stopped them all
When he had run of the house
So there was Silence
For a beat
But time passes still
One day we look up
And those journal entries we wrote
Are dated fifteen years ago
I typed a poem on the first day of eighth grade
That I can’t find now
And those four years of high school
Were the longest of my fucking life
And finally they feel long gone
I didn’t hear the years pass
But they passed
They pass still
Six years liberated, right around the corner
I didn’t think the ache would ever pass
But it passed
Skin heals
And so do hearts
In my own living room
I watch the time pass this afternoon
The minutes slow, then speed up and the day grows dark
None of my clocks make a sound
But the seconds still countdown
We are still here.
With Love,
Natalie