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Wonderland III: The Watchmaker's Tale
Morning
Having sighed a great sigh
He perused all his tools
From the mainsprings and tweezers
To the wheels and the jewels.
He removed the large case latch
From the pocket watch cover
To survey all the insides
As he would any other.
He wasn't familiar
With a watch of that kind
And confused why the workings
Ran two days behind.
He adjusted his loupe lens
And then gasped at least twice
At the solid gold workings
Inside the device.
Noon
He rang up the owner
Who was due to arrive
At the shop to collect it
At twelve twenty-five.
"OK I will fix it
In time for your date
But as it's important
I'm upping my rate."
The owner grew worried
And made it quite clear
By accepting the offer
Amid cries of "Oh Dear!"
The watchmaker laughed
As he put the phone down.
He could now spend the extra
That night in the town.
Night
Once inside of The Tabard
He ignored his bad health
And turned to his drinking
To help pardon himself.
Having switched all the gold
In the watch for cheap tack
He swapped some for whisky
With a man in the back.
On his way home he stumbled
Through the storm and the wind
Tripping over a cat
Who'd appeared and just grinned.
Later That Night
Slumped under a tree
And left gasping for air
The watchmaker's own time
Stopped right then and there.
Copyright ©
Gary Radice
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