Poem: Time

 

Time

The powerful fire of the dragon

Spewing forth from its enraged mouth

Singeing and burning all in its reach

Is how I feel about the relentless

Ticking of the clock measuring that

Which is impossible to stop—

Not a stopwatch that one can pause,

No, but a ticking watch that refuses 

To stop. Steamrollers are more forgiving

And here I am, sizzling in the flames

Hair colored as ash unable to stop 

The relentless flames of that dragon

Ticking away as it flies over us all

Tock if you will but tick marks

Are not merit but tock of ending

Tick Tock Tick Tock sizzling flames

That serve me less than being 

Smashed into the pavement

By that steamroller, kind ever pressing

Instead of insidiously ticking

Tocking in the unbearable flames 

Of an angry dragon. Time.

March 2025

About This Poem:

I could say this poem is about aging, but it really isn't. I think everyone at any age can feel the pressure of time passing too quickly. Infants being told not to do something and hesitating, then doing it anyway only to get burned in some way. Kids playing basketball and not sure who to throw the ball to, so they hesitate. Adults watching their children grow too fast. Those moments can consume us, burning us in shame or terror or something else. So, time is like a dragon ready to burn us all. That's what had me think about this poem. The photo is a local sunset that I just thought appropriate in representing time. For whatever reason, I don't have any dragon photos...