First there was the Donald Duck
Then the Hopalong Cassidy
Then Grammy gave a Swiss Incablock in 4th grade
A real watch that lasted past
Bertha Lederer commenting on it in the undergarduate stacks
Until I sort of killed it
When hunting for a body
I mercifully did not find
In a murky pool
When I was a life guard.
By then I was hooked
Accuracy to a minute a month
Aunt Ruth gave the money
That bought a splendid Accutron.
Some years and at least two watches later
A friend nudged me over my addiction
Sugggesting Kairos over Chronos
As antidote to the poison
Of my marriage to the unforgiving minute
Eight therapists later
At last I can shudder
For the child who was beaten
Because at first try
I could not make
My mind a slate.
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