Keeping Time

Saint Paul, 7 November 2004

Keeping time with planetary spin and ecumenical debris

And the coo-coo clock maiden’s polka at half-past the hour

My boots stomp constellations of a November ice over

Like the crunch of silence as it marches into winter

Keeping time with a pocket watch and silver cutlery

And the toothless serrations surrounding your currency

My shoes rattle a filigree of faded letters wrapped in twine

Like the solemn knock of a well-appointed soldier with bad news

Keeping present time with disease vectors and Darwin’s Beagle

And the buzz of mosquitoes suspended in predatory clouds

My feet shuffle across the stark planks of a half-century

Like the delusions of purpose stamp out imperatives

Keeping future time with archival paper and dovetail joints

And the recognition that hand hewn lumber glows like matchsticks

My foot-bones disturb the sawdust blanketing our best intentions

Like a realistic scene in a snow globe of my own dis-integration