27 January 2009

How Do We Measure Time?


Picture by Bobesh


How do we measure time?

By the revolution
Of a rock shooting
Through a black eternity
Pulled by a burning ball of gas.
And one more candle on a cake.

By the ebb and flow
Of white water on a beach
Hauling the oceans
Dragged by an ever changing moon.
And a new picture on the calendar.

By the mass migration from home
To work and school, and back again
Until the sound of football crowds and
Church bells place a full stop.
And another roast lunch on the table.

By a long shadow moving
Round the house and garden
Sun-blinding the windows
From dark to bright to dark.
And the shipping forecast to "Sailing By".

By the lazy sweep of a large hand
Edging too slow to notice
Round a giant Roman face
Until the chimes ring out.
And the radio updates the news.

And finally
By the swing of a pendulum
The click of a tiny cog driven by a tiny spring
A hangman's drop

A lover's final breath


2 comments:

  1. Eloquent answer to a pondering question! Rich words full of vibrant imagery that lifts you from the banal, to a stop at the melancholy, and finally sensing the elation of a lover’s breath. Two thumbs up!

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  2. Great! Lovely imagery. I am officially a fan!

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