Clock Works of Annabel

Its hands are mine, my arms belong to it

A symbol ticking away every second of the day

Life lost, life found

The hand rests at 12 bringing the chimes of a new day

Out runs the little girl with flowers in her hair

Confines escaped, two small shoes prance through the lush green yard

Until the hour hand strikes one

chime

First backpack, school lunch, nap time

Mommy and Daddy walk hand in hand to the schoolhouse outlined in the distance

Tears, excitement, she kisses her Daddy goodbye

Until the hour hand strikes two

chime, chime

Three years of school fit tightly under her belt

Bright blonde bombshell skips into second grade

Mommy’s hand waves a little lighter, no wedding ring to carry

Until the hour hand strikes three

chime, chime, chime

No more bedtime stories, no more flowers

Christmas carols ring throughout Daddy’s house, the stranger’s house

Daddy is no longer home

Until the hour hand strikes four

chime, chime, chime, chime

Daddy brandishes a new wedding ring

Away with the family, away with the girl

So away with bible, dresses, happiness

Until the hour hand strikes five

chime, chime, chime, chime, chime

New school, new city

Mother brandishes a new wedding ring of a good man, an honest man

A replacement man

Until the hour hand strikes six

chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime

All money stolen, all business failed, the replacement nowhere to be seen

Words like bankruptcy, eviction, lawsuits swallowed the once innocent mind

Still, Daddy was nowhere to be found

until the hour hand strikes seven

chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime

13-year-old girl never stayed long

Houses became temporary

4 homes later, a resting point

Her mother had a job and new wedding band

Until the hour hand strikes eight

chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime

A 4:00 a.m. ring, ring, ring wakes her up

Daddy is in the hospital, unable to hear her cries

Daddy isn’t waking up

Daddy will never wake up

Daddy is dead.

Until the hour hand strikes nine

chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime

Anger, fear, floods like a tidal wave of hatred

She hated him, hated everyone

Hated time, herself

Every tick meant another second of breathing with crushing regret

Until the hour hand strikes ten

chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime

The past was pain, the present was pain, the future was pain

A lost relationship that would never mend

Their time forever stolen

The world spinning while she remained stuck

Until the hour hand strikes eleven

chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime

Time began to dry her tears and heal her scars

A smile cracked the surface of her once stone cold face

Until the hour hand strikes twelve

chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime, chime

The closing of chapter, the opening of a new

Determination once again filled the little girl with flowers in her hair

New day, new life, old scares, old eyes

Yet time, time owns it all

Time refused to allow the little girl just one more moment with her father

Time refused to stop when the teenage girl needed rest

Time continued on when she thought the world was coming to an end

Time healed her wounds when no one else could

Time continues to bring new happiness and sadness

Time is life, its hands are my memories and 12 a.m.is my hope