the ticking clock

By Mitchell Hall

we are all here

glowing

but not for so long

ticking like a clock

just

ticking away

it’s the smart ones

that value the depreciation

of their time

they understand the gothic departure

of history before them

they understand that

life

is God’s rarity

it’s the inevitable demise

of humanity

to which we fail to pay

massive attention

and we crumble from the

bed post,

throw a fist into the

alarm clock

that bangs chimes into

our membranes

we dive head first into

depressed showers

dry off the staleness and

stare deeply

into

fogged mirrors that we

take entirely

too much for granted

it’s more important

to avoid

the arrow

than to

study it

one moment

we are princes

we have our shining stage time

the spotlight

reveals our body

in the finest hour

and we sleep

and die

and wake

and live

and repeat the cycle

of the past eras

but we pay no dividend

to the promise

of non-existence

in those finer hours

of humanity

when all others

know you by name,

and smile

at the sound

of it

we fail to swallow

the beauty

of the ticking clock

and continue on

with that comedic battalion

of

immortal

suspicion

Mitchell Hall is an American poet and short story writer. His writing is influenced by the insipid and unappreciated happenings of human existence. He is a graduate from the University of Kansas, where he studied sport science and business administration. His first book of poetry, entitled “Talks with the Moon King,” will be released in Fall 2013. Hall lives in Saint Louis, Missouri.