Telling Time

10 fingers. 10 Toes.

2 X chromosomes.

It's a girl.

She is born October 7, 1993

9:46am

Her mother may add after 14 hours of labour.

1 year later it's her birthday.

She has been on this planet

One year.

52 weeks

365 days.

Her mother marks the date of her first word and steps in a pink book

She is taller than the other 12 months old

Only 20% are taller actually

She has count them 4 front teeth

There are 25 people at the party

She get 14 presents

She only knows 5 faces.

Four years pass and she's five

She has lost count them 4 of her front teeth

She is learning how to tell time

She finds it funny that time tells you

It tells you it's time to go to school

She comes home at 3:15 everyday, her mom has half a sandwich waiting

She is 10 now. Double digests.

Her mother tells her she has to do ten times the house work.

The girl does not like this so she runs away from home.

It is -5 that day, she is home in 20 minutes.

The 3 rocks mom put in her suite case slowed her also.

Five years later she acts thirty.

She comes home 45 minutes after curfew.

Her mother sheds 3 tears when she said she hated her.

The mother wished she wasn't the only 1, there should be 2.

She was grounded for 1 week but got out the next day for good behaviour.

She is 20 now. She is in collage. Not for long.

She is always late. She doesn't like time telling her.

She is failing math and life it seems.

She's not very good with putting 2 and 2 together.

Her bank account is 43.52. Her rent is due in 3 days.

She is 40 now. She has 2 kids.

20 fingers and 20 toes.

Her oldest is 18, she wants to know what the point of life it.

She is good at math, there is a comfort in knowing 2+2=4

The mother ponders the question

Numbers. A prison made by the days and the years we call our age.

Minutes seem like decades and decades feel like seconds flashing before your eyes.

I was never really good at math, days of my life never seems to add up.

Yet we look at the numbers on a clock. We mark the days on a calendar.

We celebrate another years passing. In the hopes in the end it will all add up.

In the end. Time no longer tells us.

Because it all adds up.