As I lay upon my bed
With family gathered there around
I found myself transported by
a long-heard faithful sound

A tick and tock I’d heard so long
A sound that never ceased
A friend that with me ever was
From south to north, from west to east

I came to own it second hand
Out of the darkness of great pain
My father, as he breathed his last
Said, “Son, your loss is yet your gain.”

With motion slow, with painful breath
He fumbled o’er it with his fingers
But managed to remove the clasp
A moment that in mind still lingers

“I give it to you now my son”
He struggled then to say
And so I put it on my wrist
Where it has ticked until this day.

Thus it came to be my own
Through flood of aching tears
And brave companion it has been
In ventures o’er these many years

We saw the seven wonders and
Discovered many others too
From Greece to Egypt, Amazon
By foot, by horse, by train, canoe

‘Twas with me on the day I wed
Tick-tocking at my side
It, e’er faithful, soldiered on
That day I kissed my bride

‘Twas with me when the children came
Though it suffered at their small hands
Scratches, dings, and dents came often
And one sad day I broke the band

But even with a broken band
That watch did never stop
I held it up against my ear
I listened close: Tick, Tock

So she took it to the watchmak’r
He brought it back to life
Polished, oiled, the strap re-sewn
A gift, renewed, by my sweet wife.

No battery it e’er required
No charging over night
It’s ticked each hour all decades hence
It tocks without an end in sight

Gives no complaint, just does its work
Can there more faithful friend be found?
A steadfast help my life throughout
It needn’t even be hand-wound

From highest highs to lowest lows
From summer’s beach to winter’s sled
All my life this watch has ticked
Which leads us back to this small bed

As memories of the past
Fell to darkness one by one
I fumbled to remove the clasp
And hand it to my own dear son

“Take it son” I tried to say
But little more I did than wheeze
So after no small pause, a breath
The second time, it came with ease

Looking now, he smiled at me
Through tears that trickled fast
“I’ll wear it every day,” he said
I smiled and knew: my time had passed

It was from then mere seconds hence
My heart could no more effort make
Yet beats continued on his wrist
From spring who’s coil no time will break

He’s worn it now, for many years
It shows no signs of wearing down
Faithful to him as ‘twas to me
From dial to hands, from stem to crown

And one day soon t’will be his time
The watch-clasp to unlock
To place onto another’s wrist
The immortal tick and tock