The Clock
The Clock
to Barbara with all my love Frank
By Franklin Price
1/26/2016
The clock stands in our living room in a place where it should be.
It represents my love for you. It's there for all to see
Walking past I hear it ticking, for our lives a metronome
The pendulum is swinging in the place we call our home
I ordered it, without a word, in 1982.
It says it on the brass plate that declares my love for you.
It's a limited edition; fifty-one its numbered place
Chimes on the quarter hour; has the moon upon its face
When new it showed the phases, as the lunar month went past
The moon's no longer going; don't know when it phased its last
All else is still working. The hands still tell the time,
And every quarter hour, the clock still begins to chime
When the hour is completed, it is counted with a gong
If there's an hour we don't hear it, we know there's something gone wrong
Usually need to lift the weights; their falling moves the hands around:
There are three of them to keep the time, the chime and the gonging sound.
The clock is representative of the married life we've had
When I hear that it's still working, it really makes me very glad
And every time I think of you I hear the chimes and still the gong
For me the moon's still going, phases moving right along
I think it's really wonderful that the pendulum still swings
And that upon our fingers are still our golden wedding rings
And every quarter hour that I hear that old clock chime
I'm grateful that you are my wife and the clock's still keeping time
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