Poem: "In the Midst of Fire"

I watch the clock hung on the wall. It watches me.

Tap. Tap. A bell rings.

Heavy eyes slow to the girl sheathing me.

I can’t see her face.

I don’t know her name.

Blurry figures dance across my eyes. The bell rings again.

Tap. Tap.

A twitch, she moves unknowingly.

A reflex her subconscious is roaring.

The bell rings again.

That moment, she looks to her right.

A movement through a sea of honey.

The clock still ticks. The bell rings again.

Teeth glued shut, a vein breaking open.

A graceful fall to a chilled floor, embracing her with fervor.

Tap. Tap.

A vision of blue rouses my senses. A sea of suspension. A wave crashes white.

The clock laughs. I plead in silence. It ignores me.

She turns to me, in ache.

A hollow void gawks back.

Tap. Tap.

A shadow engulfs me now. It calls my name. I cannot respond.

The chill of a slab envelops my skin.

I can see the clock. The bell rings, a flurried note out of reach.

It ticks. Slower now. Slow.

I squint through a hazy air. The shadow is impatient.

She watches me. A blink matching a tick, waiting on forever.

A languid shake, I tell it no. Not yet.

Tap. Tap. The bell rings. I do not hear it.

I cannot defy it.

The clock has failed her. It has failed me.

But it does not care.

It watches, unassuming, its goal ahead.

Continue. Continue.

If only I had the strength of time.

I could change the future.