Timing

Aspen, CO.

When the hotel alarm clock is wrong
Nights are short and days are long
The numbers suggest but do not belong
Digits flickering or shining strong
When the hotel alarm clock is wrong.

When the hotel alarm clock is wrong
It is a faulty compass, an untuned gong
A dyslexic herald with an out-of-tune song
The ding of the clock without the dong*
When the hotel alarm clock is wrong.

When the hotel alarm clock is wrong
You find other ways to get along
Deciding when to emerge and join the throng
If the moon is waning or the sun is strong
When the hotel alarm clock is wrong.

*thanks to Walter Blanding who stopped practicing in a backstage dressing room to help supply this line.