A TRAVELER IN TIME

© David Wainland 2008

I check my watch many times a day

how is it the hands slow down in anticipation

and speed up in moments of dread

Days, weeks, months pass into years

of late I feel like a traveler

on a destination-less journey

Roadblocks in time confront me

nevertheless I travel on

seeking what, I do not know

Sometimes I pray the hands to stop

or at the least slow down in joy

then speed up during the dark

As a child there were no boundaries

the sun rose when it did

set when it was supposed to

I ate, played, danced to frameless minutes

then I learned the telling of time

with that an end of innocence

There was a moment to wake

minutes for lunch, restrictions

a schedule for school, work, sleep

Within those limits

I slip from year to year

doing more, remembering less

Now I am at the cusp of my life

checking my watch and my age

gauging my days

How old were my parents

family, friends when they died

is it me or did their lives end too soon

Am I growing older or are the faces

in the obituaries too young

I check my watch once again

My fingers shake

my hair is white

the Minutes never lie