Timepiece Of Hope

Timepiece Of Hope
© Surazeus
2025 05 13

Hunched over workbench in his clockwork shop, 
between cake shop and dress shop by the sea, 
Josiah twirls hands on the broken clock 
that beams past moments in dream of this world 
to flicker scenes that happened years before, 
so he gasps that he can relive the past. 

As he peers through gold-rim glasses with awe, 
Josiah stares in shock at graceful ghost 
of his daughter Miriam who disappeared 
years ago, face gleaming in midnight moon 
with soft angelic beauty of the lost, 
so he spends every night with her mute shade. 

When Alice hears gossip at the fruit stand 
that Clockmaker Josiah has gone mad 
claiming his daughter visits him each night, 
she knocks at midnight with her broken clock, 
so when he tweaks its gears her son appears 
to show he was shot in war as they weep. 

Ten years to the day since Miriam was lost, 
young girl in clean white dress with long red hair 
appears before his desk with cracked hourglass 
and letter in handwriting of his daughter 
marked clear with date of the following day, 
which asks that he repair timepiece of hope. 

Desperate to see how his daughter was lost, 
Josiah repairs the hourglass with honey 
which flashes bright to part the veil of time 
in swirling portal of pure energy, 
so the young red-haired fairy takes his hand 
and leads him into swirling winds of fate. 

While the clock in his shop ticks in reverse, 
Josiah finds himself on rocky shore, 
gazing far at his daughter Miriam 
who cradles new-born baby with red hair 
as she boards small boat tossed by stormy waves, 
then weeps as she vanishes in sad mist. 

Startled awake at rosy gleam of dawn, 
Josiah hears songs of wrens in pear trees, 
then kneels beside young girl with long red hair 
who wakes from sleep and smiles with silver eyes 
as she sits at the table of his heart, 
then explains that her name is Maryanne. 

Holding large gold murex seashell in her hands, 
Maryanne declares that her heart can hear 
voice of every person who lives on Earth 
express secret thoughts they speak not out loud, 
so he caresses her hair as she sings, 
then repairs broken clocks of hope with care.