I’ve been running
Since the first cry
Split the silence.
They started counting me
Before they understood me.
Tried to own me,
Tried to spend me,
Tried to stop me.
None succeeded.
I’ve worn sundials and satellites,
Chimed in towers,
Ticked in veins,
Fallen through fingers
Like cement that was never meant
To be hardened.
They say I heal.
But I’m no surgeon.
I don’t stitch wounds —
I just walk beside them
Until they scar.
I’ve watched lovers promise forever,
Then ask me to rewind.
I’ve watched mothers pray I’d slow down,
And old men beg me to move faster.
I’ve never been enough for anyone.
Too late. Too soon.
Always blamed,
Never thanked.
I stretch empires into dust.
I stretch moments into memories.
I stretch lives… into
What they do with me.
I am measured,
Feared,
Wasted,
Worshiped.
But I am not yours.
I am not kind.
I am not cruel.
I simply am.
And I am tired.
Tired of being chased
By people who don’t stop to live.
Tired of carrying goodbyes
No one had the courage to say.
I don’t sleep,
But if I could,
I’d dream of a world
That stops counting me—
And starts honoring me.
I’m Time.
And I’ve given you everything.
What have you given back?
by,
Alphonsa Josy
1st DC English (Media Studies)
LIT SCROLLS 