At midnight, gears begin to sing,
Each chime dissolves remembering;
Its hands replaced by open space;
The town below in shadow lies
While maple limbs applaud the skies
A dreamer hears the ticking call
And climbs the stairs through dust and wall;
Each rung ascends through time’s disguise
Where sleep reveals the deeper wise
He finds the clock without a face
He learns that life though timed is vast—
Each moment both the first and last
He wakes at dawn the bell still rings
Yet something bright beneath it clings;
That time’s not foe nor fleeting art—
It beats to keep the soul apart