The Clock and the Telephone

“Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone…”
~W.H. Auden
 

The Clock and the Telephone

 
Start all the clocks,
Ring all the telephones,
Lock in time by lighting the world.
Every screen is a mirror.
What we scroll is who we become.
The clock ticks and mourns
Not being able to return.
But it returns every day to the same
Places.
Call everyone by their number.
We are all numbers.
What number are you in
The Universe of all
Places.
Start all the clocks,
Ring all the telephones,
Time and space are
Going to collide.
When and where
Have been longing for
Each other.
Who is made of
Whens and wheres?
Who is made of
Whens and wheres.
Who are you?, the clock asks.
Who are you becoming?,
Asks the telephone.
Stop all the clocks,
Cut off the telephones;
We are locked in,
Lights off,
Inside a coffin
Without a clock.
The end,
Is not a broken clock.
The end is no clock.
Check your phone.
The phone is the new clock.
Don’t check your phone.
The phone is the end.
I know where you are,
Say both the clock
And the telephone.