i have taken
to wearing a watch
in an effort
to become less
reliant upon
constantly checking
my phone

an interesting
side effect
is hearing what should
be a consistent tick
once per second
through bipolar senses

moments exist
where i am stranded
between ticks
able to navigate
the whole of the cosmos
surf photons across
phantasmal nebuli
witnessing the dawn
and fall of countless
catastrophic civilizations

and stretches where
the incessant ticking
so rapidly intruding
makes ne want to smash
the faceless face
reducing the construct
into brass gears
strewn like the intestines
of chronos himself