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Keeping Time
by Kristina WoodhillRetired for 18 months
he is in hobby heaven
his home-made
indoor RC planes
fly off the work table in
record time now
his grass seed stem
struts and supports
make him an admired
light weight
in a world where each
ounce determines numbers
of miniature motors needed
to defy and lift through
revered still air
those quiet birds
flock to the local
gym on weekends
and swoop and rise
to the rafters in a
barely audible whirring
symphony of wings
single, bi, helicop, ornithop
spinning and twirling in
Gyro Gearloose fashion
comical yet calm
motor or rubber band
that let even the tightest
minds unwind through their
ground bound pilotage
and while he waits for
glued grass joints
to dry,
he tinkers on
his growing collection
of clocks, some dating
back to college days
when recycling was the
rage and a cereal box
cardboard creation
of laminated layers
was born in his ever
fertile engineering mind
his 15 minutes of fame
on TV and in the local rag
as a friend announced
you gotta see this clock!
carried him through the
years
tick
tock
tick
tock
and in the now
with time
on his hands,
he can and does
poke, tweak, clean,
and peer into the
marvelous mechanism
of keeping time
And I grin as I walk past
the hobby room door
and ponder this man
face to face
with stopped clocks
old clocks, ebay please
take me home clocks,
and I wonder if their hands
might take his, if they
could
and hold his
quiet, steady, still
to let him know
that for them, at least,
it is good
some times
to simply stop
and rest....
02/08/2007 Posted on 02/08/2007
Copyright © 2024 Kristina Woodhill
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Gregory O'Neill on 02/08/07 at 10:59 PM Kristina, this is a remarkable read, I'm just delighted. "...spinning and twirling in
Gyro Gearloose fashion/comical yet calm..." Terrific poem, and you know it's been said, you can only milk a cow so long, then you're left holding the pail. It's what we then do with that pail that counts. Thanks.
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| Posted by Kathleen Wilson on 02/10/07 at 03:22 AM Coincidentally, as if by poetic intent, the taking flight, (but a flight always ending in grounding), and...a fascination with time-pieces-the ingredients of this (busy)"retirement" poem... flight instructions, time-clock come from within personal history...and the musings...universal. Excellent. |
| Posted by Jared Fladeland on 02/10/07 at 06:00 PM The first stanza reminds me of my fiance's grandfather that recently passed away. he loved model airplanes. he always wanted to be a pilot but for a medical reason couldn't. he lived through flying remote control planes |
| Posted by Christel Crews on 02/12/07 at 03:22 AM a simply beautiful piece, looking at the transition of work to retirement. your love and support for him comes across so clear in this piece, without actually saying it! you've captured something here that i hope to find.. |
| Posted by Joan Serratelli on 02/13/07 at 04:25 PM This is just great- the imagery is just so vivid. I also can relate. My work is my write- his was his clocks- we all need tofind our niche; our calling and place in the world. Retirement is not easy- some people don't adjust.
I like everything about this piece; especially the good feeling I had reading it! |
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