Watch, or: Don’t

Posted on by ben Alexander 
It is my Papa's watch
Now it is not his watch
I did not use to wear a watch
And now again I wear no watch
But I did

Chronos notches Aion's 
Endless hours and minutes
Did his scythe cut Kairos down?
Blind hands feel for 
Fate's flinty face
To finitude they're now attuned
Though it's been said time heals all wounds
Blind hands feel for Fate's flinty face

There's a truth I'd so like to share
With the folks who haven't been there
I knew not pain, but then it came and named me heir
So perhaps you will find me
Spinning clockwise endlessly
I've bared my wrist, 
But found naught there to set me free
I've tried but cannot unknow
The fleetingness of this grand show... 
Although, although... 
Although... 
Although...

Chronos notches Aion's 
Endless hours and minutes
Did his scythe cut Kairos down?
Blind hands feel for 
Fate's flinty face
To finitude they're now attuned
Though it's been said time heals all wounds
Blind hands feel for Fate's flinty face

It is my Papa's watch
Now it is not his watch
I did not use to wear a watch
And now again I wear no watch
But I did

Through my mind's eye I can see
Ancient venerable ancestry
That lived and died as Jews 
So that some day I could be free
A generation stands now (mine)
By merest chance or grand design
Through all those ages tryin', 
Our destinies yet intertwined
Today his watch face is looking at me-
Eternity could never be

Chronos notches Aion's endless hours and minutes
Did his scythe cut Kairos down?
Blind hands feel for 
Fate's flinty face
To finitude they're now attuned
Though it's been said time heals all wounds
Blind hands feel for Fate's flinty face

48 thoughts on “Watch, or: Don’t”

  2. Most beautiful description of all eras by telling a watch.i have read this type metaphorical poem first time.gorgeous and impressive,dear!!

          5. Wonderful blog.i think-Jew and Hindu are not the religions.both are only the cultures.after a long times ,others were gave the name of religion to these both cultures .

          6. Oh. That is interesting! I definitely feel that way about Judaism. I didn’t realize that the same is true of Hinduism. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

      1. My pleasure, Ben. I read the post about your father’s watch. I was touched. In the poem you add a mythological dimension to a very personal story. That takes your work to a different level. It is hard to embed mythology in poems. However, you are a master. Maters create masterpieces. You’re great!

  7. I enjoyed reading this poem, so many levels, and I liked your repetitive structure…was perfect for what you wanted to say..”Fates flinty face” stays in my mind, as I am sure you hoped it would. You have used really well chosen phrases to describe your father’s watch, that “now is not his watch.” that you wore for awhile…but no longer wear.

    1. Thank you, Karima.

      Some times I write because I’m inspired to do so; sometimes because I simply want to see what will result if put myself to the task; and sometimes, like this time, I write because something is weighing on me heavily and I can’t seem to write anything else without first expressing it.

  10. (Eternity? Tomfoolery)
    Mysterious it remains,
    the differences we cannot explain,
    experiences of life,
    and the afterlife
    upon beginning
    the journey
    of grief and mourning,
    Eternity, I have no doubt

    1. Well done 🙂

      I actually changed the wording of that line because I didn’t quite like the way it sounded, but the essence of my intended meaning remains the same. ⌛

  12. Wow! This one is Grandly Designed, DB. 🙂 It inspired my second attempt at a poem in my life. I think I will call it – For Girls Who Cannot Keep Things

    Losing hands go limp
    God-breathed soul unextinguished
    Vanishing on the horizon
    Final gasping and grasping
    Strange contortions
    Losing the confines of lungs
    Freedom fools fear and name death
    Door out of exile
    Into truest home
    Land without losses or exits
    New hands now firmly hold
    Every loved one ever known
    Eternally found

      1. Thanks. It still feels a bit jumbled and out of order. I’m going to keep “tweaking” it. I feel exhausted after writing it. I wish poetry didn’t come to me like giving birth. Those pictures where I’m holding my baby in a hospital room looking like I was hit by a Mack truck come to mind.

        1. Often the amount of time I spend fiddling with the sounds and meanings of words in my poems is very exhausting… It amazes me sometimes that a poem may have very few lines, but it may have taken me hours to string those very few together.

          1. I know it’s worth it. But I think for me it’s like prayer. I tend to give up on it cause all I can seem to produce is groans. But maybe if I can quit stifling my groans I will more often find the words that come after. Yep, that’s it exactly. I think I’m having a profound day, lol.

          2. That is EXACTLY how I feel about it – my best poems (and prose pieces for that matter) are often on the most difficult subjects, which makes them even more difficult to write because I have to get past my “groans” as you so aptly put it… but then if I can do that successfully – it’s so powerful to see my words on the screen reflecting something buried within me.

          3. It’s weird. I had a dream about 3 nights ago that I wrote down in my dream journal. In it I saw your blog. It was like a blueprint. I’m still trying to figure it out but it got me thinking about how King David gave Solomon the blueprints for the Temple.

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