THE TICKING CLOCK

THE TICKING CLOCK

The pendulum swings from side to side.
Counting the years that I cannot hide.
The ticking carries across the room.
Through evening light and gathering gloom.

This house was once so full of cheer.
My mum and dad were always here.
With cups of tea and laughter bright.
And family talking into the night.

We had our parties around this place.
I still remember each smiling face.
The rooms were filled with life back then.
I wish I could live those days again.

Now I go walking and come back home.
Into these rooms where I sit alone.
An uncontrolled tear rolls down my cheek.
While that old clock is the only one to speak.

What happened to those happy days?
Why did time hurry them all away?
Why can we never make moments last?
Why must the future become the past?

I love my God and Jesus too.
And deep in my heart I believe in you.
But I loved my family here on earth.
Why must we lose them for some second birth?

Is heaven waiting beyond that door?
Will I see all of my loved ones once more?
Can anybody promise me they are there?
Or is it simply our hope and prayer?

Emily sits by the blazing fire.
Watching the flames as they climb up higher.
Sometimes she comes and sits on my knee.
But she cannot talk and remember with me.

I miss the cooking, the laughter, the tea.
The ordinary things that meant family to me.
The jokes at the table, the knock at the door.
The voices I thought would be there evermore.

So God, if you hear me, give me a sign.
Something so small that I know it is mine.
Then I will treasure the time I have got.
And remember my family have not been forgot.

The pendulum swings and the old clock will chime.
Quietly carrying me forward through time.
And when my own ticking has finally flown.
Please let them all be there, welcoming me home.