When a digital watch
displays the seconds on your wrist
it’s hard not to think
it’s timing your every move.
Like how long you take peeling potatoes
or waiting for the green man
before crossing the road
or the number of seconds
from the first drip of a wee to the last.
What if it counts the length of your bad thoughts?
What if it tots up the hours you’ve spent
saying pacific instead of specific?
I don’t want to know how often I think
about the time we’ve missed together
or promising to wipe away that mould
compared to actually doing anything about it.

© Carl Burkitt 2021