Time

I play Tug Of War with the trailing threads of Time:
The harder I pull, the faster it slips away.
So I dig my nails in and give all I’ve got.
I feel like I should be leaving jagged, crimson welts,
That Time should be screaming and twisting in pain,
Like I am,
But its great expanse remains unmarked.
(Please, I need some measure of control.)

I leave my glass slipper behind on purpose,
Hoping this daydream,
This fleeting moment in Time, will follow me to my
Attic
In order to return it.
(I bet it won’t.)

I see before me the endless procession
Of my life’s Farewells, so
I reach forward and
Memorize my world on sensitive fingertips.
(I’m terrified that I won’t get the chance to know it all.)

I crouch before the ticking clock, whose gleaming face
Towers over my small form.
I watch the great hands jerk jerk jerk jerk around.
I want to grab those arms and break them,
Snap them,
Grind them to dust,
Tell them to wait,
Wait for me.
(Never before have I felt so helpless.)

My heart throbs madly,
Begging for a few more days,
Weeks,
Years…
Eternity.
Give it a break,
It’s only tired of saying
Goodbye.
(It has had to say it an awful lot.)

I stand before the darkness,
Gasping for breath,
My nails torn and bloodied, and
Hesitate, watching the gaping abyss before me
Open into a fanged mouth that is
Ready to devour those priceless little moments
That blossom across my inner eye like
Water color on soggy tissue paper;
I am afraid to breathe and tear right through them.
Nothing good ever stays.
(Oh, how I wish it would.)

I give you my innocence.
I give you my youth.
I give you my passion.
Do this one thing for me.
Please, Time, wait.
(I know you won’t.)