No Clock
By Matt Norman
Light carries between floorboards,
I follow it; trace a line back to my eyes
And the creases beneath them.
This building has no plaque
And shows up everywhere-
Once I found her by the harbour
And had to lead her away
Before the salt rusted her window frames.
If I close my eyes she is only noises,
My ears and she is only smells.
The children she played hide-and-seek with
Are in their sixties now.
I am poised and waiting;
She has no bell whose rope to pull
And no clock to time my exit.
Her lesson will begin soon,
I was here when she took the breath.
I can feel dust settle on the hairs of my arms.
Any second now-