Saturday 2 November 2013

TODAY i STOPPED the CLOCK and HELD back TIME

         



            Today I stopped the parish clock
            and while the village slept,
            at the point where summer time
            falls back into winter,
            with one hand, I held back time      
            and let seconds fly
            directionless and  haphazard
            around the steepled tower,          
            like gnats dancing over a summer pond.
            The iron hands stood frozen
            to each moonish clock-face
            at five minutes-to the mute and silent hour.

       


Instead of rounded golden chimes
rolling out over field and rooftop
there was silence
and the pigeons in the bell chamber
slept on undisturbed.
And all I heard was the beating of the wind against the tower
as I rubbed shoulders with God and angels in this place beyond time.


                   For a while I watched the village slumber
                   from the unlatched door high up
                   on the side of the old stone tower.
                   A guardian of this time of no time.
                   The ticking watch on my wrist counted out the untrod
                   minutes upon which no one had yet walked...
                                ... or loved
                                          .... or danced.


                             In that silence,
                             I tasted each moment;
                             Those seconds,
                                      those minutes
                                               and precious quarter hours
                             that those below had yet to live.


Is this what it feels like to be God?
To be standing in the dark outside time?

Is this the eternity of which my soul dreams?
Where seconds are born 
 then slew back upon themselves
to be reborn later? 

Or is this just the world of the wilder things;
the fox, hare and badger?
Those that run as wild as wind
Unaware of the clock not ticking
Or the hands not moving.


                      For an hour, with one hand
                      I held back time
                      and set eternity loose
                      among the streets and alleyways.
                      And the village below me
                       slept on, unknowing.

And my eye travelled up
to the smudge of woodland
on a high brow of hill
Where eternity always breaks in.

* Background music composed, performed and recorded by Helen Ingram


18 comments:

  1. This is some amazing and powerful writing...wow.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Keith. It's funny how these things seem so messy and totally unpowerful in the writing!

      Delete
  2. Beautiful!! I love this- Is this what it feels like to be God?

    To be standing in the dark outside time?




    Is this the eternity of which my soul dreams?

    Where seconds are born

    then slew back upon themselves

    to be reborn later?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am so glad that you like it. The mundane often seems to hold the key to (or at least throw a spark of light upon) the profound and ineffable.

      Delete
  3. Thank you for reminding me that words can have wings, and make music of their own.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So beautifully said, I love the world you just created in this passage.

    On Friday at work I tried to wax philosophical about that moment when time would turn back over the weekend, but no one wanted to play with me. I even threw in being in two times at once, like being in two places at once, kind of like the Picard Manuever...still nothing.

    This is so inspiring and challenging and I'm going to read it a few more times now... :)

    -Michelle

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha - love the Star Trek reference.!! :) Yes, not everyone gets it, but I find the notion of time endlessly fascinating.

      Delete
  5. this is stunning, truly inspirational, blessings, alison xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Alison. I'm looking forward to the Taurid and Leonid meteor showers!!

      Delete
  6. TS Eliot speaks about "timeless moments". I know some people who pay such close attention to you that a few moments in their company is somehow expanded & not just extended. I don't know what this points to but when I experience it I know that I have just been a part of one of the richer experiences of life. You capture this so well in your poem. Great to hear Helen Ingram's music which is a perfect accompaniment. Please give her my greetings.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I must revisit Eliot soon. Yes, that sort of experience transcends time - another of those 'signals of transcendence' that I find myself chasing :) To be able to create that feeling for someone else is truly a special ministry.

      Delete
  7. Amazing..so deeply beautiful..there are massive layers of images sparking off in my mind in all directions at once...brilliant poetry and storytelling, it is always breathtaking experiencing your words! Your voice is always so powerful too..and the background music so lovely! Love the images/pictures here..they totally drew me inward!
    Always a magical visit here Richard..your poems take me into invisible worlds I never wish to leave!
    Victoria

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much Victoria. I am glad that you liked the background music - it was by a friend of mine and I am really grateful that she has let me use it.
      Perhaps those 'invisible worlds' are really part of you already and words are just keys that help is to become aware of them? :))

      Delete
  8. Hello, I loved reading this - a delightful post full of images and atmosphere. How magical that, for a moment, time can be held back by not moving the clock hands. I do feel ruled by time in early November when of course the clock has to be changed and the day has to be shortened.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Wendy. Yes, that is a really good point - the November 'fall-back' does emphasise time's hold on our lives, literally forcing us to alter our hours. I'd hadn't thought of that, but perhaps that it why those moments in the church tower felt so profound and liberating. We are actually the guardians (and surfers) of time and not its servants!!

      Delete
  9. Your insightful words paired with your voice is just splendid. I remember the first piece I ever heard of yours that was joined with spoken word, These Are the Long Days, its stuck with me all these years later. Another wonderful share. You truly are one of my favorite poets. I'm so happy to be able to witness your magic again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's lovely to have you here, Meg. Oh yes, 'These are the Long Days' - gosh, that's a while back now. I am so touched that you remember it!! :))

      Delete

For your voice is important... and words that are shared grow wings.