It happens sometimes
That I look up at the clock
Just when the second hand
Pauses between one tick
And another
So that everything seems to stand still
In that moment
And I have enough time
To wonder
If the clock has not stopped.
It is amazing how much
Can go through your mind
From one second to the next.
And while clearly
A life cannot be lived
In such a pause,
Requiring time
To stretch itself out,
Memory can,
Requiring no more
Than a spark of light
To give a sign
That contains the whole.
by Fred Skolnik
The Second Hand was first published in Oak Bend Review, vol. 1, Issue 4, Jan.-Feb. 2009. Fred Skolnik’s novel The Other Shore (Aqueous Books) has recently appeared and I have published stories in TriQuarterly, Minnetonka Review, Los Angeles Review, Prism Review, Gargoyle, Literary House Review, Words & Images, Third Coast, Polluto, Underground Voices, etc.
