outside, the calm stone wall, a placemat in history
a tick-tock without sound
inside, the warm wood of this table
the tick-tock of a tree, long-timbered
distant voices from another room
the tick-tock of a jigsaw conversation
lumps in the cushion, tick-tock on my sitbones
the vibration of a warm alive body next to me
tickety-tock goes a clock and my hair tickles my own cheek
calm in my torso too, a stone wall
limbs engaged, stone walls, yet too ready to run
I’m ticking my tocks
until they stop