Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE WATCH, by WALT MASON


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE WATCH, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: My watch wouldn't work worth a dime, it
Last Line: The thing I should tackle at first.
Subject(s): Jewelry & Jewelers; Repairing; Watches; Mending


MY watch wouldn't work worth a dime, it was always a fortnight too slow; instead

of recording the time, it monkeyed around, to and fro. The mainspring seemed out

of repair, it traveled by spasms and jerks; so I sat me right down in a chair,
and studied the watch and its works. I took it apart with a wrench, and studied

the levers and gears, all piled in a heap on a bench; I studied and wiggled my
ears. I put the wheels back in the case, and shook them to give them a shock;
but the hands didn't go round the face, and the works didn't tick nor yet tock.

I asked of the plumber advice, and counsel I asked of the judge, consulted the
dealer in ice—and still the blamed works wouldn't budge. "Methinks," I
remarked, "and I wist, I must go to the jeweler's shop." He gave it three twists

of the wrist, and the watch went along like a top. That plan's kept me down in
the past—a plan that is doubtless the worst; I always reserve till the last

the thing I should tackle at first.





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