A pocket watch, found in ditch, on constitutional stroll,
T’was old-fashioned, tacky, electro-plated(?) gold,
Sterling silver or high-carat d’or, would have kept it sound,
No inscription, nothing, it was done-busted junk, a toy,
Always down on myself for never having taken apart and played,
With mechanisms, like I’d heard gifted boys did,
Never too late, I pried it apart with a kitchen knife,
Slicing open a chronometer-pinching digit, spilling blood,
On lockjaw little gears, shocked still, in total annoyance,
Visions of juggling shiny bits back together, making them tic,
Rudely usurped by trying to remember, were there any plasters,
And where,
And I yelled, “Fuck”, set knife in sink, dropped watch in bin,
My butchered hand twisting, in the loose waist of my T-shirt,
I kicked the bin over,
Spilling coffee grounds over rented, carpeted floor,
“Fuck!” I yelled again, louder this time,
And maybe this wasn’t about the watch anymore.
Punishment
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The Poet: Joseph Robert was born and raised in the Midwest. However, he has always been partial to Hawaiian beaches. Nevertheless: Go Badgers! After living and working for several years in rural Japan, he now resides in London with his wife, writer and poet Leilanie Stewart. In his spare time, you can find him at the British Museum trying to teach himself how to read Sumerian cuneiform. Don't worry, yes, he has seen Evil Dead, so doesn't read any of it out loud.
The Artist: Eleanor Leonne Bennett is an internationally award winning photographer and artist who has won first places with National Geographic, The World Photography Organisation, Nature's Best Photography, Papworth Trust, Mencap, The Woodland trust and Postal Heritage. Her photography has been published in the Telegraph , The Guardian, BBC News Website and on the cover of books and magazines in the United states and Canada. Her art is globally exhibited.
