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