Pocket Watch

There is a limit to being needed.
I’ve been slipped in and out of a waistcoat,
a lover in honeymoon sheets, only reliable

if my tip is fondled. I am important only
if I function in the tick-tock beat of the world.
Oh, to be useless, a wild orchid in a field,

ornamental or at the most, romantic
to bees and squirrels. Please, keep me in mind
as a well-oiled tool, but don’t drop me

in the treacle. There are two kinds of hare
here. One is always late for supper, the other
only occasionally sane. I’ve courted them

both when the earth stirs slowly, just
waiting for something to happen.
I have decided to stop thinking precisely at noon.

Maybe, I’ll skip faster during puddles and muddles,
or on my made-day. I’ve been famous for having tea
and toast, and always beneath a ravishing sun.

Laurie Byro has been facilitating “Circle of Voices” poetry discussions in New Jersey libraries for over 16 years. Laurie was named “Poet of the Decade” by the InterBoard Poetry Community, as her poems received awards 43 times, including 2012 Poem of the Year as judged by Toi Derricotte. She is published widely in university presses in the United States and was recently in an anthology, St. Peter’s B-list.