Eden time

They spent every day,
blissfully ignorant, in
amorous delay.

 

Temp time

Will I be alive
when the twelve-headed jailer
announces it’s five?

 

In a parched time

Clouds make this appeal:
the more you wait, the wetter
the water will feel.

 

Intermission time

Guilty admission:
this plunge from art to life’s a
painful transition.

 

Sleep time

Quick nap—but it seemed
an ocean of joys, a sea
of griefs that I dreamed.

 

Reunion time

Days passed like drugged snails.
I met you at the station,
laughed at their faint trails.

 

Just give it time

Though I frankly feel
better, there’s nothing sadder
than starting to heal.

 

Retronym time

Cheering: it was done.
But soon the Great War would be
renamed World War One.

 

Lately I haven’t had the easiest time

Overcathexis
has me asking clouds if they
know where my ex is.

 

The Marschallin returns for the third and final time

Ja, ja, so it goes:
I’ve got memories, but she’s
got the silver rose.

 

Ahab time

Though I do not thrive,
I confess I’ve never felt
so purely alive.

 

You get lucky from time to time

Once, in a mad rush,
I painted a blizzard that
blew away my brush.

A Message from the Editors

Your donation sustains our efforts to inspire joyous rediscoveries.

This article originally appeared in The New Criterion, Volume 29 Number 3, on page 28
Copyright © 2024 The New Criterion | www.newcriterion.com
https://newcriterion.com/issues/2010/11/time-pieces