I was taking off my wristwatch

I was taking off my wristwatch

John Bjarne Grover

I was taking off my wristwatch
while preparing for the night
and I put it in my pocket
as I quenched the burning light.

As I pulled my trousers off
the watch fell down in front of me
as a fish escapes the bucket
jumping back into the sea.

It lay there on the carpet
and its silvery watchband shone
in the darkness like some angel
who's afraid to be alone.

As I slipped under my blanket
I could see the evening star
shine with pallor through the curtain
and the window set ajar.

In the haven, on a liner,
some young man sings as he boards
and I know under my blanket: Clock
is time of broken swords.

See this reference to the poem - I believed it had been on my web homepage but I could not find it again there.

I wrote this poem in the first half of the 1990's, maybe around 1993. It could perhaps be seen as a poetic description of my writing of 'The Endmorgan Quartet' (1997-2008).

I notice a mention of 'wristwatch' also in the 'ABC of politics' - a quote from the end of my novel "The Dreamer". (It is a mistake to believe that this could mean 'kåt' = 'horny' from 'the end' of my 'novel' etc).

The line "and its silvery watchband shone" was originally "and its silvery bracelet shone" which sounds better but I am not certain if it can be used for the strap of a wristwatch.

There is also a story in my Collected works vol.3 (page 1190) called The map of Congo.