The Timekeeper’s Lament

I.
Brass hands circle endlessly,
Ticking away moments like falling sand,
Each second a whisper of what was,
Each minute a ghost of might-have-beens.

II.
Dusty gears remember touch,
Of fingers long since stilled,
Winding life into mechanical heart,
Now beating alone in the quiet.

III.
Pendulum swings, a metronome,
To the rhythm of fading memories,
Back and forth, yesterday and tomorrow,
Never resting in today’s fleeting grasp.

IV.
Face etched with time’s own wrinkles,
Numbers worn by countless gazes,
How many hopes have you witnessed?
How many dreams slipped through your hands?

V.
In your chimes, I hear echoes,
Of laughter from summers past,
Of tears shed in winter’s embrace,
All moments captured, all moments lost.

VI.
Oh, steadfast guardian of hours,
Keeper of our mortal coil,
Your relentless march reminds us,
Of the weight of each precious tick and tock.