whatever you do ,  do not look at the time
it will consume you .
you’ll obsess over It until It ceases to exist . he
fell into the trap that tempts your eyes
and binds your wrists to each gear that turns

the common room
the only place with a Clock ,
the only place with light fixtures that weren’t fastened to the ceiling
the only place where you were subjected to obsessing
over the Time

paper bags and porthole windows
offered themselves as the most perfect escape
free people living their lives , running
errands ,
filing paperwork

but whatever you do ,
do not look at the time
for when you notice the turning of the hand
on the clock in the common room
you obsess over the fact that
the world goes on without you -
whether you’re running errands or filling out paperwork
or watching the parking lot
through the porthole window