The Stopped Time

Found it in the back of the drawer,

under old receipts, a dead battery cell.

That cheap quartz watch, no shine anymore,

its metal band tarnished, its hands fell

at ten past two. A gift, you see.

My grandfather, God rest him, he

gave it for graduation. Proud, so he said.

But I barely made it, hung by a plea,

most nights I just stayed in bed.

Didn't deserve it then, and don't now.

The cool metal against my palm, somehow

the weight of it. A cheap watch, but it held

a truth. I never thanked him. No vow

I kept. Just the ticking, quelled.

Stopped, just like my shame.