Tick, tick, tick
The secondhand creeps on by
Echoing loudly
In the empty room

I cover my ears
Sighing, shifting
Uncomfortable
In my own skin

Waiting, always
Be patient, the words
Repeat like a mantra
In my head

Staring at the ceiling
Eyes wandering
Roaming, following
The cracks in the paint

Drifting, my mind
Turns in a circle
Avoiding the thought
At the center

Dancing around it
Twisting and twirling
Like fire, it draws me
Like fire, it burns

Energy building
Still waiting, unmoving
Pushed to the edge
Yet unable to jump

Soon, the voice whispers
Soon, the years pass
In stillness, enveloped
By silence

Screaming, inside
My voice tells you nothing
I open my mouth
And make not a sound

Watching, impatient
I claw at the windows
Caked over with dust
No one sees me inside

Patience, it preaches
The voice in the silence
Good things are coming
To those who will wait

Finally bursting
The fire consumes me
I tear at the lock
As I break through the door

Sunlight, blue sky
Wind through the trees
I step onto the grass
Then I see it, my prize

Golden and shimmering
Perfect and blissful
The heart of my heart
My only desire

Stretching, I reach out
My fingertips brushing
Against it, a moment
Then grasp only air


Ashes, they fall
Down gently they float
To my feet, all that’s left
Of my prize

Then comes the voice
From the stillness behind me
If only you’d waited, it says
In its infinite patience

For just one more day