Telling Times
By Lilian Friedberg

It is the autumn equinox --
the time when eggs stand still
and straight.(1)

Downstairs,
the neighbors are fighting --
I can hear them shout,
"Then just go, goddammit,
get out!"

I am quiet,
my silent heart broken
by the tick, tick, tock
of my westclox watch.

I've forgotten
how
to tell
time
without it.

I know, then,
it is time --
to re-Member.

1. At the time of the vernal equinox, an egg will stand straight on its point.