Old Father Time
by Sam Payne
There’s a friend in our home
Goes by Old Father Time
He marks out the day
In a regular chime
Stood proud in the hallway
A faded round face
Old cogs with worn teeth
In a handsome oak case
Once resplendent and grand
Pure precision and class
Perfectly paced
Behind hand-bevelled glass
He’s the unwitting guest
At our family events
A timely reminder
That life seldom relents
Instrumental in taking
Proceedings in hand
Influencing occasion
And the best laid out plans
He can herald the dawn
Of a new infant’s day
Or call time on death’s darkness
The hurt and dismay
Through the ballad of life
He’s the constant that stands
Conducting the music
With a safe pair of hands
He’s the one thing we count on
So punctually prone
Never skipping a beat
The heartbeat of home
Marching onwards together
A stitch never dropped
The time of our lives
Until the pendulum stops
