A Father’s Watch

I’ve so little left from you:
Some cotton shirts that you outgrew;
A dozen fountain pens; two
Medals from the war that cost
Your life, though in the drawn-out way
Despair degrades the human clay;                                                  

This watch that I rewind each day,
Reminding me of one I lost,
Once yours as well, as cheap when new,
That weighs on my left hand in lieu
Of the gold band at rest with you
No ring could hold a candle to.

First published in PN Review