Counting The Days

X after X

Morning leaks gold  

Through a crack in the shade

Time keeps its tally  

In light and in fade 

I’m counting the days  

Like coins in a jar

Some fall close 

Some roll far  

Some burn bright

Some bruise black  

Some hit hard  

And push me back 

I rhyme with the minutes 

I chase every beat

I bargain with shadows  

That slip from my feet

I grip every hour  

Before it can flee

It flickers a warning  

Then dives from me

Still I keep counting 

The lost and the lit  

Each day a small spark  

I refuse to quit

And when the last echo  

Of waiting is through

I’ll step into tomorrow  

And count something new