The Clock and the Tock
I and the clock go tick, ticktock. I and the clock ticktock and it's fun. The faster I run the harder I tock. And the harder it tocks the faster it runs.
Mary Carolyn Davies
SourceLicence:Public domain (US, unrenewed)
I and the clock go tick, ticktock. I and the clock ticktock and it's fun. The faster I run the harder I tock. And the harder it tocks the faster it runs.
A child runs, and a clock ticks along, and the two get tangled up in a game. That's really all that happens here, and the poem is happy to keep it that simple. The speaker doesn't just listen to the clock; she joins in, saying "I and the clock ticktock," as if they were partners in a duet. The word "tock" becomes something she does, not just something she hears.
The fun comes from the loop at the end. The faster she runs, the harder she tocks, and the harder the clock tocks, the faster it runs. Each one seems to push the other along, so the energy keeps building. The lines even speed up as you read them aloud, because the repeated sounds trip over each other like quick feet.
The mood is playful and breathless, a bit like a nursery rhyme. There's no worry about time slipping away here. Time is a game partner, and the speaker is delighted to keep pace.