\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Old Mantel Clock<\/p>\n
It was near the midnight hour<\/p>\n
as I settled down in my easy chair.<\/p>\n
Relaxing, after I had taken my shower.<\/p>\n
Thinking, as I ran a brush through my hair.<\/p>\n
Why did such a thing happen?<\/p>\n
Especially to someone so young?<\/p>\n
I should have hit the sack then.<\/p>\n
But, I knew sleep would not come.<\/p>\n
I tried to focus on other thoughts.<\/p>\n
Still, my thoughts drifted back to her.<\/p>\n
I knew, inside,\u00a0 I was still distraught.<\/p>\n
Since my daughter\u2019s death had occurred.<\/p>\n
I tried to relax and breathe deeply.<\/p>\n
Let my mind go totally blank.<\/p>\n
The quiet in the house was creepy.<\/p>\n
I heard what I first thought was a clank.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock—-Never stops.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The old clock on the mantel<\/p>\n
Passed down to me by relatives past.<\/p>\n
Sitting there between two candles.<\/p>\n
It made a sound like clanking brass.<\/p>\n
There was no other sound around.<\/p>\n
It was quiet as the bewitching hour.<\/p>\n
I got up and started pacing around.<\/p>\n
A taste in my mouth that was kind of sour.<\/p>\n
Again, I started thinking of my lost daughter.<\/p>\n
The thought bringing me to tears of grief.<\/p>\n
No, I must not dwell, as I drank some water.<\/p>\n
I plopped down again back into my seat.<\/p>\n
As I sat there I heard that sound.<\/p>\n
The infernal ticking of the old clock.<\/p>\n
It was the only sound there was around.<\/p>\n
Was it louder now? —Or, was it not?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock,—-Never stops.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Why is that ticking bothering me so?<\/p>\n
I never had noticed it before.<\/p>\n
Was it a message for my soul?<\/p>\n
That thought shook me to my core.<\/p>\n
It sounds almost like it is saying:<\/p>\n
Your next, your next\u2026.. Nooo!!<\/p>\n
What kind of tricks was my mind playing?<\/p>\n
Such horrible thoughts had to go.<\/p>\n
I blame myself for my girls death.<\/p>\n
Even though she died from a disease.<\/p>\n
A curse passed down to my regret.<\/p>\n
For some sin my mind conceived?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not fair\u201d I cried out to God.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo take the life of one so young.<\/p>\n
A daughter should not die, God<\/p>\n
before her father. Not when young.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock—-Never stops.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I wrestled with these thoughts of mine.<\/p>\n
No satisfaction or relief obtained.<\/p>\n
As I let my thoughts slowly unwind<\/p>\n
the same single thought remained.<\/p>\n
Why? —Why did she have to die?<\/p>\n
This thought was ripping me apart.<\/p>\n
\u2018These things happen\u2019;\u00a0 doesn\u2019t answer why?<\/p>\n
\u2018All happens for a reason\u2019 was a farce.<\/p>\n
\u2018Turn to faith in God for your condolence.\u2019<\/p>\n
I grabbed a Bible and opened it up.<\/p>\n
I saw God is with you in all moments.<\/p>\n
“Where were you when I drank this cup?”<\/p>\n
Silence.— Then I heard the ticking.<\/p>\n
The ticking of the mantel clock.<\/p>\n
Over and over, always ticking<\/p>\n
Ripping apart all that I thought.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock—-Never stops.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
What is this? This constant ticking.<\/p>\n
Driving all thoughts from my mind.<\/p>\n
All my thoughts were not sticking<\/p>\n
due to this ticking . Ticking in my mind.<\/p>\n
I jump up and pace around.<\/p>\n
What evil trick is being played?<\/p>\n
This ticking clock, the only sound.<\/p>\n
Is Satan driving me to the grave?<\/p>\n
Is it the loss of my loved one<\/p>\n
causing me to lose my grip?<\/p>\n
Is this clock cursed? —What fun.<\/p>\n
A clock passed down is making me sick.<\/p>\n
Maybe the clock has a message<\/p>\n
that goes on and never stops.<\/p>\n
A message just for this age.<\/p>\n
She is gone.— Accept your loss.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock–Never stops<\/p>\n
——————————–R. W. Johnson—– (2011)<\/p>\n
.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The Old Mantel Clock It was near the midnight hour as I settled down in my easy chair. Relaxing, after I had taken my shower. Thinking, as I ran a brush through my hair. Why did such a thing happen? Especially to someone so young? I should have hit the sack then. But, I … Continue reading The Old Mantel Clock<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-random"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=40"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3435,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40\/revisions\/3435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=40"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=40"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wordsmithwisdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=40"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}