Horological Aristocrat

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Horological Aristocrat
            a Cento

All the clocks tik
but a grandfather clock talks
he is always companionable
never obvious
his words blend with the mood of the moment

When the mind begins to tire
he seems to say
"Don't press, have a rest."
but the evening, he says softly,
"Forget, relax."

He is quietly persistent
but never monotonous
murmuring, he gives a sense
of well-being and pleasant
detachment from the thing we call progress.

Source: Old Clocks: For Modern Use, 
with a Guide to Their Mechanism, Edward Wenham

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