It’s been two years since I was home. Not much has changed, and the world has. Since the last time, a “vaccine passport” is required to come here; Lilli can’t do stairs, and Bob’s gone, or soon will be, but the cluttered house is still loud with the relentless ka-tick-ka-tock of his asynchronous clocks, making me think of the “Old Folks” song, about the ticking clock on the wall, that “waits for us all.” I shiver a little, thinking of my mother here alone with the clocks, their heavy pendula echoing like slowing hearts in the dim rooms after we’re gone …
Bio:
Judith Pond has published fiction and poetry in numerous Canadian literary magazines. Oberon Press has published her fiction in the Coming Attractions collection and has released four collections of her poetry: An Early Day, Dance of Death, Lovers and Other Monsters, and A Shape of Breath. Her first novel, The Signs of No, is forthcoming with the University of Calgary’s Brave and Brilliant literary fiction series. She coaches writers and teaches creative writing in Calgary and is currently at work on a second novel.