Around The Clock Poem by Sylvia Frances Chan

Around The Clock
(the English translation from the Dutch version)

I usually turned off the lights around one in the morning.
I'm going to bed
under the cozy duvet

Before the bright sun will shine,
I wake up to the chirping of the sparrows
(but during the night hours I sleep very soundly,
nothing can wake me up)

the sparrows come from the nearest church
and treat me to a morning-concert

then a quick breakfast because
I always want to be on time for my students

good example leads to good follow

the household help clears things up
and the house is well-maintained again

during tea time I often opt
for mint tea and delicious Nutella biscuits,
my mind rushes back to Harrods
where you can choose the tastiest petite fours

It's almost the end of my teaching now
I have ordered a tasty meal for our dinnertime
A special restaurant has our favourite dish
Excited to taste that now!

If you're already hungry, the wait is so long.
Here (in Nederland) they eat at 6 o'clock in the evening,
while the French eat at seven-thirty or eight o'clock
and in Spain, they eat at half past 9!
their appetizer hour starts at 5 o'clock in the afternoon
it's just what you're used to.

©SYLVIA FRANCES CHAN - 2023