My clean school blouse was soaked in sweat,
The streets were empty. I heard the bell
Far off, as I ran with bursting lungs -
And I lost my faith in prayer as well!

Schooled to live in the cage of the clock,
I kept lots of lists, cut down on sleep,
Felt proud to be a competent cog,
And swam in the spume, forgetting the deep.

But the tasks piled up and toppled over.
Chaos ensued – and it wasn’t so bad.
Early I stepped off the belt of work,
And people died and I didn’t feel sad.

Eighty next year and time washes around me.
The letters are answered, banished the grime.
I flow in the fathomless waves of the seasons
And wait unafraid for the end of time.