Time has no sound, on its own
We gave it sound, the tick of the second hand
on a well-made watch
the ringtone of the alarm
or the timer we set with our latest productivity hack

Time has no sound, on its own
but we who love our noisy world
wanted it to be loud like us
to be controlled by us
to have an urgency
it doesn’t natively possess

Time has no sound, on its own
Outside, the birds are not late
the gecko is not rushing
and while the squirrel is hurrying
he is only trying to make the beagle chase him
and get in trouble for baying.
There is no clock ticking outside
just the soft wind in my face
blowing away the tightness
that the count-down timer brings
and the warm sun melts the stress
of loss that comes with each tick

Time has no sound on its own
We gave it sound
to remind us it is passing
that we cannot control it
but we can be hyper-aware of it

Time has no sound on its own
We gave it sound
It was not one of our best decisions.