Sunday, August 26, 2012

MANTEL CLOCK




on the mantelpiece counting down the minutes
before another death
ticking on its face of denial
entrapped within its antiqued mind
unable to turn a blind eye
to the shadows of the big room
while the seconds tick away
it grinds away in deadly charm
remembering the momentous death
of the aloof spinster
and the detached life she lived
while watching the handsome dogs
eat the dead parrot
in silence
the ticking stops

12 comments:

Gail said...

Wow, dark...I like!!!

Unknown said...

Oh my..... a wretched ending indeed! I loved the clock ticking the elapsed time away. Well written, Wayne. Thank you for sharing this. =D

kaykuala said...

Morbid and eerie as an empty room could possibly be. Clever use of a ticking clock in alluding to the impending deathly throes of man and animals. Well crafted Wayne!

Hank

Brian Miller said...

dang...those first 3 lines grip...counting down to another death....and then the dark turn...wow...

Grace said...

ominous and dark of approaching death...yikes on the last image of the dogs eating the dead parrot ~

Tess Kincaid said...

Unable to turn a blind eye...indeed...the all-seeing clock...

Susan said...

The way and when the clock stops makes it seem like its job was finished--counting down the deaths of man and animal in its vicinity. Perhaps the last moment in a short story?

Thanks for visiting my poem "morning."

Laurie Kolp said...

Spooky, Wayne... you really drew me in with that beginning and kept me holding on tight until that graphic ending.

Irish Gumbo said...

Dark, but good. Dogs eating the parrot? That's either inspired or demented...maybe both! :)

Helen said...

Love how you take us to the netherworld!!!

hyperCRYPTICal said...

Well done Wayne. An eerie countdown to death...

Annaa :o]

robkistner said...

...and I smoldered somber in the corner, cool gaze fixed on this scene of slow decay... Good shit here Wayne, wonderfully dark...