The Human Clock
Once lived a man in a small small house
He ran in circles like a mechanical mouse
He was
Afraid of the wind
Afraid of cars
Afraid of satellites
And afraid of stars
When day bled away there’s no way to know
Curtains just hung there like a giant crow
The television pulsed a boring blue light
He huddle next to it from morning to night
Afraid of kettles
Afraid of cracks
Afraid of firemen
With a wooden axe
In the little room was a small wooden clock
That sat there mute, neither ticked nor tocked
Its skeleton rattled with broken teeth, but he
Rocked in its place on the sides of his feet
Afraid to sit
Afraid to run
Afraid of saucers
Afraid of guns
Afraid of eagles
Afraid of caskets
Afraid of flowers
In funeral baskets
Swing a red cigarette toward his dreary face
Around fall the ashes all over the place
Swing a red cigarette along the wire brace
Around fall ashes all over the place
Afraid of bells
Afraid of phones
Afraid of boxes
Afraid of bones
Afraid of hammers
Afraid of spoons
Afraid of antennas
Afraid of brooms
Afraid of razors
Afraid of blocks
Afraid their laughing
Through the door lock
great write giving the feeling of how one could get lost in their fears and miss out on life. well done. - Tonya
Amazing piece. Speaks to all of the fears that live inside of me, no matter how deep, that rear their ugly heads at times. Very good original concept and solid writing...
The incessant pounding of the word "afraid" takes us inside of the head of the persona. An excellent fusion of structure, sound and meaning.
Elena S, my take ~ sheer paranoia ~ panic ~ Trapped alone in a room for years ~ more or less a true story.
Amazing poem! Overwhelmed ..Who could the instigator of all those fears be ? May I dare an answer? ..maybe the only moving thing ..TV?
A very unusual and poignant poem that makes the reader think. A fine write... welcome
your piece inspired in me a new one... :) ... thanks... http://poetfreak.com/text/125191/the-stitches-of-perpetuality.html
Immensely intriguing piece... got me thinking... where do our lives of fear lead to? We are already broken down by the weight of conformity, the need to fit in. Its easy to say that we can live, but to live beyond the safety of advertised security and beauty, to open our eyes to reality, the life we hold too tightly but slipping through our fingers.... the thought is intense, inevitability, right outside our doors.
Ha ha... An extraordinary list of issues. Ain't this the guy that started "Fight Club"? : D