Timekeeping

I stopped to take a time-out from life, but life didn’t oblige my desire; it didn’t stop for me.  Drat the damned thing!!!  GODDAMN IT ALL ALREADY!!!!!  What was it thinking?!  I just wanted a brief respite to catch my wind and to gather my wits about me, yet life was not compliant with this simple request; it demanded that I continue forging forward despite an acute need for rest.  Thus I had to acquiesce and grudgingly do that; I was left with no choice in the matter.  Life offers a person no opportunities for rest, no wayside stations to let your guard down for a few minutes and to primp up, no prolonged bathroom breaks just to escape work for a piddling five minutes of self-indulgence.  Life never stops, hence we can’t either.  Oh, surely one day our bodies will cease functioning—they all do that just as sure as the days are long and the nights are short—but until that day comes the clock will never stop its relentless ticking even on those occasions when we feverishly pray that it can and should.