Copper gears sleep in velvet case
Apprentice oils the winding face
Snow settles heavy on Bramley bough
Dusk paints the orchard silver now
Fingers trace the frozen bark
Listen for the hidden spark
Time holds breath in wooden chest
Mainspring dreams of winter rest
Brass and frost in quiet dance
Seconds fall on crystal branch
Tick by tick the night grows deep
Promises the clock will keep
Ladder leans on iced trunk
Breath clouds rise like prayer drunk
Oil cloth wraps the chilled steel
Warmth returns what cold would steal
Balance wheel in evening turns
Slow as ember, slow as ferns
Escapement clicks a lullaby
Stars watch from the violet sky
Brass and frost in quiet dance
Seconds fall on crystal branch
Tick by tick the night grows deep
Promises the clock will keep
Sap freezes in the vascular lines
Like mercury in glass confines
Apprentice counts each numbered tooth
Measures age against the truth
Brass and frost in quiet dance
Seconds fall on crystal branch
Tick by tick the night grows deep
Prom
