Wound

By Kurt Van Ristell

.

Just wound all the clocks forward.
Kissed goodbye once more
To sleep.

Started with the overlooked:
The oven, the boiler, my magnetic
Kitchen timer. Other noisy appliances
That beep.

The obvious spring next. Living room, Roman numerals
Suspended beyond tiptoes,
A stretch even for me.
You’d always watch nervously, biting nails
As I reached from the low orbit of a dining chair.

Dining room. Barely used. Your grandmother’s old
Gold carriage clock gleaming from the mantel.
Open its window like a cat burglar
Stealing diamonds. Leave fingerprints in her dust.

Notice the time on my wrist as I leave. Correct it with
A measured twist. Trudge upstairs to our bedroom.
A pair of red eyes
Blink tears from the bedside.
Your alarm clock glows at me.

I don’t know how to do this one.
I switch it off.

Lastly, the attic calls. The highest point
Of my daily Earth.
Everything hurts after the drop-down ladder
Clangs. I do not rummage, but beeline
To your cardboard world.

I try not to look as I move aside picture frames,
Thumbed notebooks of your musings,
Rings and scrunchies left behind.

I find your favourite inside, ticking still, as always.
Your petite, black leather strapped wristwatch.
I wind it forward.
Kiss goodbye once more
To sleep.

Kurt Van Ristell is a poet, author, and artist living in South London. He works in education, which is a storyteller’s boon. His poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Bandit Fiction, Sledgehammer Lit, Horned Things, Voidspace Interactive Zine, and PostScript Magazine. Find him on Twitter @secretvan.

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Why we chose this piece: Kurt’s attention to detail in this poem is intense, yet he also cultivates a sense of comforting familiarity that makes this rumination on grief so beautiful. Each time we read this piece, it feels like we’re walking through the speaker’s home and memories. The repetition of “Kiss/Kissed goodbye once more / To sleep” at the end serves as a poignant reveal. Kurt provides the same level of care with his imagery and diction as the speaker provides when they reset each clock.