always three o'clock

i've made

this cup tea too sweet,

as if

i made

it for my grandmother

as she

sat by her

canary

in the stuffed Italian

chair

by the fire.

she liked Melba toast

too,

as we talked

about the weather

and other

things on her mind.

what do you know about

cuckoo clocks?

she once asked me

pointing at the brown

box on the wall,

with a cardinal stuck

out on

a plank of wood,

it had been three o'clock

since 1952.

nothing, i told her.

i know nothing about such

things.