Freitag, 24. Apr 2009, 21:03
time started to fall apart on me, little seconds drifted
down like ashes, and when they hit the ground, the sound
was that of a million tickings all tocking at different beats.
squinting up, I caught one on my tongue, letting it dissolve.
It tasted like riding my bike down Frederick Ave, my balance
precarious as I tried to ride with no hands.
the mayor walked by in his white robes, muttering under his
breath that time was money, and bent down, trying to pick
up the fallen seconds but they powdered in his hands,
leaving black streaks on his fingers and palms.
feeling the seconds stop dropping, I turned my attention
back to the sky. I heard chimes first as minutes began
descending, then bells tolling, grandfather clocks releasing
their hours over our heads. These fell a little faster, but were
just as delicate, some of them stained into temporal rorschachs
on our clothing.
When I caught one on my tongue this time, I spent a minute
walking the abandoned highway that led to my old home.
Grass whispered beside me as I kept to the shoulder and
stars stretched around and over me, a giant Lite-Brite playset
whose owner had lost every color but the clear pegs.
The next minute that dissolved past my lips took me to the
house that Igrew up in.
I saw my mother standing over me, asking where I had been…
I saw myself at seven years old, the hateful lie starting to form
behind my cheeks…
I saw Adam reaching for the apple…
And I didn't try to stop it.