Wristwatches on a Refectory Table - poem

Lawrence Hall
mhall46184@aol.com

Wristwatches on a Refectory Table

“Time is but the stream I go a-fishing in.”

-Thoreau

Some six or so cheap watches set in a row
Ten-dollar Timex models with shabby straps
Cast-offs and hand-me-downs – and so one asks:
Why are there watches on a refectory table?

The abbey’s clocks are the moon and the sun
And the cycle of seasons each in turn
The changing leaves and liturgies in time
With the Great Dance of stars in their appointed spheres

But even so:

Those six or so cheap watches set in a row

Are

For outside appointments - and now we know!