watches

I used to wear Timex

watches for their simple open faces.

In odd moments

I would cup the watch to my ear

to listen for the ticking

as real and imaginary as the sea in a shell.

     After a few years of wearing a Timex I decided I wanted a watch with a little style and I found a gray and silver swatch watch.  It is the opposite of a Timex.  As it has no numbers of any sort telling time by it is a little chancy.  Every once in a while I miss by an hour.  Unlike a Timex it has no night light, no friendly green glow, so it is useless in the dark.  And in bright sun it is important to be careful looking at it.  The metallic face is a powerful reflector and I have blinded myself more than once.  But it looks good.  

     I dusted off my little travel watercolor set to practice some sketching.  My first subject: watches!
    

My husband's grandfather's brass watch

 

I only have a dim memory of my grandfather checking his pocket watch for the time.  He would pull it out of his pocket and hold it at waist level- I realize now that is the preferred distance when you need reading glasses.  My father wore a Timex wrist watch.

This was my husband's grandmother's grandfather's gold watch given to him by his wife on their fifth wedding anniversary.