Submit your work, meet writers and drop the ads. Become a member
The first chime
a man beaten by time and weather
waits at a silent bus stop for the last
chance he’ll get to see his kids
before they’re gone

The second chime
a woman on her back, wearing
nothing but a smile she doesn’t mean
feeling human again with a man she
doesn’t even know

The third chime
noisy commotion around a bed
the doctors saved the baby but
mom paid the ultimate price
who will tell the father?

The fourth chime
a million questions race through
your head as you try to fall asleep
what will tomorrow hold for me?
only time will tell

The fifth chime
as the last customers leave the
manager of the diner walks out
tonight he will make the decision
not to drink himself to sleep

The sixth chime
a little boy, tears rolling down his
face as he hides under the covers
he always hates it when mommy
and daddy fight

The seventh chime
a priest sits at his desk in the house
of the Lord, weeping with guilt
how can such a sinner lead any of
God’s people?

The eighth chime
out on the rocky beaches
a man and a woman are wed
by the sultry light of the moon
and nothing more

The ninth chime
six men carry the casket of
a seventh, a man they all called
father and sir but never
just Dad

The tenth chime
high in the Cascades, the light
of an emergency flare finally dies
along with the last hopes of
the stranded hiker

The eleventh chime
night is still young for most
but for some it is only the start
of the hardest day they will
ever weather

The twelfth chime
the bus comes, and the man
sighs with relief to know he
will be able to see his sons
before they’re gone
MSBQ - 2/28/10
B S  May 2011
A Monotonous Chime
B S May 2011
I’ve been lost in time,
These last few months,
With clocks that won’t tock –
And days that won’t stop.
And I was happy.
Or maybe a little too comfortable.
It’s all the same,
Because the sun won’t always shine,
And you can’t stop the rain.
But time will always find you,
And I’m here now.
So where are you?
Are you hiding too?
Running from the monotonous chime –
The one that dictates your waking,
And your slumber.
Your not so silent slumber.
Trapped within the walls of time.
Is this living,
Or is this death?
It doesn’t matter,
The trees will still grow –
Either way.
And I’m here now.
I wear bells now –
To throw that monotonous chime –
Out of time.
So where are you?
Do you wear bells too?
I don’t weep,
No I don’t cry,
Because tears don’t harmonize,
With the monotonous chime.
TS Ray Oct 2019
Sing for me, oh wind chime!

Winds are blowing from north to south,
Skies are darkening from up above,
Rains are showering over a white robe, and
the globe is dancing with a mild glow.

So sing for me, oh wind chime!

Blue jays are pecking at an oak tree,
Spinning around squirrels who are as carefree,
Unaware of a herd of deer roaming free,
their intelligence only bettered by their calling soiree.

So sing for me, oh wind chime!

Even as the prairie of a backyard is so beautiful,
when winds are so peaceful,
flowing the dandelions along plentiful,
depositing themselves on young ones a handful.

So sing for me, oh wind chime!
Beau Scorgie Apr 2016
I've been lost in time
these last few months -
with clocks that won't tock
and days that won't stop.
And I was happy.
Or maybe a little too comfortable.
It's all the same -
because the sun won't always shine
and you can't stop the rain.
But time will always find you
and I'm here now.
So where are you?
Are you hiding too?
Running from the monotonous chime -
the one that dictates your waking
and your slumber -
your not so silent slumber.
Trapped within the walls of time,
is this living?
Or is this death?
It doesn't matter,
the trees will still grow
either way.
And I'm here now -
I wear bells now -
to throw that monotonous chime
out of time.
So where are you?
Do you wear bells too?
I don't weep -
no, I don't cry.
Because tears don't harmonise
with the monotonous chime.
Logan Robertson Sep 2017
Restless Encounter

Returned from the graveyard shift
I needed a lift
Puppy eyes shut
Barks abut

I couldn't sleep
So I counted sheep
One, two, three, four
There's  a knock at the door

It's an old cougar
That wants to borrow sugar
Coast was clear
I had no fear

Two hours later
The gator was catered
It's back to sleep
Counting sheep

Halfway to fourty
Lawn mower sounds, oh lordly
Two hours later
The gator's  a hater

It's back to sleep
Counting sheep
Twist and turned twenty five
And more unneeded jive

Alarm clock set for wrong time
Chime, chime, chime
Can you believe that
The gator spat

It's back to sleep
Counting sheep
I see her in the lea
Playing with me

Her wool a nice set
As my gator's lip wet
And this time the wifely returns
My insides want to burn, burn, burn

My gator sighs
As she says hi
Hi I weep, weep, weep
Please I need some sleep

She looks (esoteric) at me
With that look of plea, plea, plea
She wants her sugar fix, too
My gator singing it's blue

My eyes want to close
But there she blows
Chime, chime, chime
Wifely having a good time

On top of the train track
Gators attacked
His sheep counting on him
To stop the bedlam

Logan Robertson

9/6/17
Ciara  May 2013
Wind Chime
Ciara May 2013
My wind chime rouses me as the wind gently blows
It sings again and I smile at the sound
This wind chime is my favorite thing in my house
I can’t say it’s mine because it’s not anymore
But it did belong to me once
I didn’t take very good care of it when it was mine
Other people admired it and I let them have it
But they always gave it back to me
And it always came back chipped or scratched or defaced in some way
Then one time it came back totally broken
I put my wind chime away and forgot about it for a long time
Till the day he found it and put it back together and made it even more beautiful than before
And I smile again because he did the same thing for my heart
Elle Richard  Sep 2019
Her
Elle Richard Sep 2019
Her
It is within an unusually warm and early spring night,
Here, where I begin to feel something ever so unusual while looking deeply into this goddess' eyes,

With her eyes like a pair of diamonds sparkling in the sky,
It's at this moment–in this part of the night–
Love simply didn't need a reply,

With candles lit,
As it's surely to her delight,
And with rose petals all over the bed–
That, surely, was to her surprise,

Though, right now,
Can you really blame me for having this nervous butterfly-feeling whirling around inside?

For this will be the first-ever night that I'll get to hold this beauty tight,

And for such a divine beauty,
Surely I'd make any sacrifice to make sure her every whim and need is perfectly sufficed,

Yes, with our feelings for each other that couldn't be more pure or refined,
I already know, without hesitance, our love would satisfy any god's most delicate appetite inside,

And although, this world may never know how I truly feel inside,
I, myself, know with certainty that I love this woman more than anything I've ever loved in my whole life,

Yet, with nothing more than the sound of crickets chirping within the night,
I proceed to lay this beauty down–
Here, pulling her close to my side (where I tell her)
"I love you, angel, good night",

And even though our love never did need a reply,
She said
"I love you too, sweet dreams baby, don't forget to hold me ever so tight",

And thus with this crazy, whirling, butterfly-feeling, again, that I begin to feel take over inside,
She rolls over unexpectedly and surprises me with a kiss to seal any other reply–
To only roll back over and close her eyes,

Oh, and in the midst of her every action–every move leaving me mesmerized,
She decides to move an inch closer to me,
(Where I wrap my arm around her thighs)
As it's also nearly simultaneously that I hear the clock's stride finally hit midnight,

With a chime that struck once–
Then struck twice,
I begin to hear a set of chimes strike–and strike until they chime twelve times,  
(As these chimes come from this evilly wicked, horrid and heinous clock of mine)

Yes!–with this clock being a clock that through time I have come to slowly hate and despise!

Though, this tower of a clock reminds me of its presence with not the tics nor the tocs–
No, only when the minute hand climbs and the hour's hand meets another notch,

As only then, within that second of the minute, does my mind's thoughts get crossed and rocked–
With my thoughts that become locked within a box
(As it'll be for the next sixty minutes)
I'll just lie there and remain distraught,

Oh, and you ask why?–
Simply because of this chiming noise that won't stop!

With these reoccurring chimes that take my sleep and make most nights a loss–
I can assure you that if I don't go to bed by one or two o'clock,
Any sleep for me will become more and more implausible by every tic of the clock,

Yes, nearly impossible–
For it'll be with the next four or five hours, I'll just lie there, roll, and toss,

Though this is a different night!–
As I'm reminded with our legs crossed and with our fingers interlocked,

Yet, here as I begin to feel the warmth of her body block and fend off any kind or sorts of lingering winter's frost,
I also sense that numerous candles are still glowing bright,
(With the sight of their ambient light flickering off of the bedside's wall from abroad)

And, within this room filled with sentiment as I hear not a sound at all,
I smell the candle's aromatic scents,
With the atmosphere within the air being ever so calm,

Until that is, I hear another chime of a **–
With it sounding like a melody that's gone ever so wrong–
It's with this tower of a clock, right here, that has just let me know it's now the hour of one o'clock–
And one o'clock, right on the dot,

With only one lone chime that I heard–as everything then simply paused and stopped,

Though, within my mind and with these thoughts that refuse to stop,
I reassure myself–
Knowing that the time is only one o'clock,

For I know I still have an aplenty of time to close my eyes and make these endless lines of thoughts stop,

So to this brilliant mind of mine,
You know that it's clearly time to let these thoughts wander off,

Just close your eyes and let your mind stop–

Though, didn't I just say enough with your thoughts?

Oh, and I can see you might think a lot,
But clearly and obviously you're not thinking about squat!

So just stop or I swear to god,
If you don't stop with these god awful thoughts,
I'll have no other option than to smash and squash your head against these bricks outside of this wall and then leave you there to rot–

For if you don't stop this exact instant then I am almost certain your beautiful woman will become a loss,

And I'm sure you don't want that to happen again, now do you?

So just stop with these thoughts–
Quit fooling around and whatever you do–
Oh, and whatever you do,
Don't let this beauty see that crazed loony side inside of you,

Just fall asleep now and you both can wake up tomorrow around noon,

Yes, just close your eyes and count these sheep jumping over the moon,
And count them jumping one by one–then two by two,

Yet, between one and two,
Surely I knew I was bound to come unglued,
(With the loony that came right out of me as I hear a tune)

With a chime that struck once and then twice,
It left my mind to know not what to do,

Though, that doesn't mean I am confused,
With the duo of chimes that struck–
Only letting me know it's now into the minutes of the night that come directly after two,

And though,
As I begin feeling as if a disaster was nearing in soon,
Still, I knew not what to do–

Because I know nothing as I'm thinking of nothing and just fading away within the scents of her perfume,

(Where I begin fading away within this serenity and hearing not a tune)
I feel the weight of my eyelids begin to feel like a caving-in roof weighing at least a ton or two,

And with just one of a few wondrous thoughts still wandering on through,
I wonder
"Could this be sleep that is nearing in soon?”,

With this feeling of a wonderful tranquil sensation subduing and leaving my whole body consumed,
(As I'm weary and with clearly not a thought left in this room)
I take one last deep breath
(With my lungs swelling like a balloon)

And within a dream is where I have just entered into–:
UNTIL ABRUPTLY I HEAR A SNOOZING OF A TUNE!

Yes!–As I'm awakened and with the insanity within in me being let loose to roam throughout this room,
My mind, then, begins to shift back and forth (like something caught drifting between a typhoon and a monsoon)

Where realizing as I view that I've opened my eyes too soon–
With it being this beauty here of mine that is the one who is creating this horrendous little tune,

And feeling, as I hear–
With every single breath that she breathes rattling the room–the walls–and even the shingles upon the roof,
I feel my mind, here, completely coming all the way unglued–
For all I want to do is make everything within this room mute!

Yes, that's all I want to do!–

For I’m sure I wouldn't even be in such a foul mood if I wasn’t sleep deprived,
And if this beauty here of mine and her snoring roar weren’t the main culprits of keeping me, my mind, and this night alive,

Though, hearing with her roaring of a snore that is beginning to drive me crazy inside–
Yes, as she snores, there!–just an inch or two away from my side–
I hear with her snore only growing more and more–

As I, then, within this second, try to ignore a chord of chimes striking once, and then striking twice,
(With this clock striking three times to remind me once again of the time)

–With this night now being at least 3:03, 3:04, and could possibly even be 3:05,
I know this night is at the most three or four hours away from seeing the sun shine bright through my window blinds,

Oh, and surely I already know I probably would just close my eyes–
Yes, that's probably what I would do!
But this little beauty here of mine is worse than any set of chimes,

And surely indecisive,
(As I move the pillow over my ears while I'm consumed by an irritating form of fright)
I move my body a little to the left and then a few inches to the right,
Where I hear her demon's rumbling from inside,
And screaming as if they're trying to come out and fight–

(Which is where I begin thinking)
“Is waking her up really that much of a crime?”

For if she knew she was snoring at such a high decibel level,
Then I'm sure she wouldn't even mind,

And thus with my decisions that couldn't agree more with my mind,
I decide to slightly lift her head and wiggle her,
(As I nearly tickle her left side)

Whispering to her as I say,
"Baby, wake up, I just had the worst dream of my life!
Oh, baby, wake up, I just need to see those sweet little angel eyes!",

Though motionless–
There, as I try to keep my insane and crazy side inside,
My whisper begins to intensify to a scream
(As she refuses to open her eyes or give me a reply)

I continued to scream–SCREAMED!

"Oh, why, oh, why won't you open your eyes!",

And with her snore being the only reply that she could give me,
It literally drove me crazy inside–
Thus driving me as it drove me to climb on top of her body,
(Where I grab her nose and squeeze)

As it's within the silence and in this exact instant,
Instantly and unbelievably, I see I've hit a stride that I couldn't believe,

Yes, mesmerized!
And content beyond belief–
With her snoring, here, that has finally ceased–

–Casually, I proceed to climb off of her body
(Wherein realization I finally can go back to sleep)

And in the silence, again, as I hear not a peep,
I roll over, close my eyes, and before I could even count one jumping sheep,
I hear a roar once more coming from this treacherous little beast,

And surely with not a second more could I go without sleep,
(As this pillow, right here, has just become my best friend, and the most plausible way to get any sleep)
I decide to move this pillow over her face–with my exertion at first lacking any tenacity,

But what I'd end up hearing would be like a growl or a roar of a wicked beast,

With this sinister snore of hers only increasing more and more with every tic of my heart's beat,
I begin to feel my thoughts shift toward the sentiment of either insane or crazy,

(As my hands push with more and more of an intensity)
I begin sweating–feeling the smothering warmth of her body's heat,

Though, simultaneously as I hear her heart throb and knock an unstoppable and irregular beat,
I begin putting even more weight upon this pillowcase
(With a galore of my sweat dripping upon these sheets)

And surely I have to know,
(For it should be as obvious as could be)
That if I put any more weight upon this pillowcase,
I'd likely break through the toughest of the most unbreakable concretes,

And thus coming to the realization–
With this crazy side of me that has taken over and been unleashed surely not being me,

It's here, against the greatest of restraints
(As I'm barely able to climb off of her body)
I climb off and begin waiting within the silence–

Waiting and hearing not a peep,
Where seemingly prompting myself to say,
Here, as I speak!
"Good night baby–sweet dreams",

Though, I'd hear not a reply–
As a reply was something our love never did need,

Yet, as I roll over to climb under these sheets and close my eyes
(Where simultaneously it all has seemed)
I have fallen fast asleep within a dream while holding my sleeping beauty tight–

Holding her as I squeeze–
Holding her!–
With her heart that holds not a beat–.
Ronnie Ng Nov 2011
A cat was standing at the balcony gazing
at a wind chime on the opposite building.
The cat has fallen in love with her, but
she's foolishly waiting for the wind.

The wind swiftly came by and danced
with her for a while, but left her crying
when he's gone. It pained the cat to see
that, but the sound of her cry was melodic.

The wind chime couldn't do anything
unless the wind came to visit her.
The cat couldn't talk to her unless
he crossed the street and climbed over.

Between them was just the distance of a street,
and the cat could have easily crossed over.
But even if he did, nothing could be changed;
As the wind chime was only meant for the wind .

Copyright, Ronnie Ng, 2011 (www.facebook.com/bolametrics)

— The End —