The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

by Sylvia Plath

Clock snips time in two Lap of rain In the drain pipe Two o’clock And never you. Never you, down the evening, I cannot14 Cry, or even smile Acidly or bitter-sweetly For never you and incompletely. Things surround me; I could touch Soap or toothbrush Desk or chair. Never mind the three dimensions All is flat, and you not there. Letters, paper, stamps And white. And black. typewritten-you, and there It is. The trickle, liquid trickle Of rain in drain-pipe Is voice enough For me tonight. And the click-click Hard quick click-click Of the clock Is pain enough, enough heart-beat15 For me tonight. The narrow cot, The iron bed Is space enough And warmth enough …16 Enough, enough. To bed and sleep And tearless creep The formless seconds Minutes hours And never you The raindrops weep And never you And tick-tick, tick-tick pass the hours.