I hid all the clocks.
Got up when I wanted,
went to bed when I wanted,
ate when I wanted.
My brain wailed for its numbers.
It’s hungry time, teatime, I said.
Restless. Walk time.
Tired. Bedtime.
In the middle of the dark
my brain demanded a number.
Let’s lie here
and see what
happens, I said.
It’s dark time.
When we awoke the sun
was almost above the treetops
and the house next door.
After a few days
my brain forgot
the numbers. We went
to a shop, but it was about
to close. We practised yoga
at sunset, just as the gurus
recommend. Before we slept
we went outside to the night
to contemplate the Pointers,
their movement
up the sky.
From A coat of ashes.