{"id":137991045,"date":"2026-04-24T17:17:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T22:17:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jahangiri.us\/2020\/?p=137991045"},"modified":"2026-04-25T10:10:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T15:10:08","slug":"waiting-for-the-chimes-day-23-of-national-poetry-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jahangiri.us\/2020\/waiting-for-the-chimes-day-23-of-national-poetry-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Waiting for the Chimes: Day 23 of National Poetry Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

Day 23: National Poetry Month<\/h2>\n

Prompt used today was “to write your own poem that takes place at night, and describes something magical or strange that happens but that no one is awake (or around) to notice.” One of the first things to come to mind was my grandmother’s hall clock.<\/p>\n

I loved that clock and learned to “wind” it by pulling the chains that lifted the counterweights and tapping the pendulum. I loved the chimes and started to anticipate them as if the clock had climbed inside my head. But an odd thing happened, years after I’d moved out of state – I heard those chimes. And I knew it was those<\/em> chimes, because that clock was always getting ahead of itself.<\/p>\n

I called my grandmother and asked if her clock was off by ten minutes. It was. From then on, I took to calling her whenever I heard the chimes, laughing and telling her to set the clock to the right time. It happened fairly often until after she died.<\/p>\n

With my grandmother and my mother, this wasn’t odd or “spooky”; it was the most normal thing in the world<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Waiting for the Chimes<\/h2>\n

When in darkness chimes the clock that stood
\nbelow her stairs, I know. For it has never kept
\ngood time; it wanders through the hours. I hear
\nthe ratcheting chains, their heavy counter-weights,
\neach second ticking, pendulum clicking, until
\nthey can no more\u2014the dreadful silence like
\nstilled breath. I hold mine, waiting, half-expecting
\nshadow-stirring, sickle-flashing Death.<\/p>\n

Other National Poetry Month Posts<\/h2>\n