The Clock Sat Smugly on the Shelf | Firestone Feinberg

The clock sat smugly on the shelf,
As if upon a throne,
Contented with uncounted wealth
Accrued through debtor-loan.

One thousand minutes from the lad
Who tried some time to keep-
Two hundred hours from the maid
Who’d stolen off to sleep–

And twenty days the afternoon
Full washed away by rain–
And thirty weeks- owed by the moon–
For daring so to wane.

Then laughed and laughed the greedy clock,
And selfish sneaked his hands,
As screaming trumpets- tick and tock–
Exclaimed his steep demands.