Time on My Hands

Time on my hands. Melting icicles chipped from a freezer wall. Water dripping through chilblainned fingers. Bluing pinkish palms. Wetting shoe-tops with dark stains. This is how the days are marked.

Time on my hands. Gloves thread bare at their tips. See-through fabric hardly covering ancient skin. Lifeline showing at the wrist. Crisscrossed with scarred tissue. This is how the years slip by.

Time on my hands. Closed around a chocolate crucifix. The faith of my youth rotting at body temperature. Brown sugar ooze sticking to nails and knuckles. Jesus withering on the cross. This is how the seconds tic out.