clock tower:  and stood before her, top of stairs, the green witch, standardizing time, with clock face eyes, ticking loops of iris, pupil, and sun dial nose, and sand dripping, running, through her veins.  time fell from her perpetual, like bell-sounds, sunrise, seasons.  moons and suns and shadows all at once, orbits swung from string temporal spun from looming center.  he had come to her, to know of distance, years, if anything was absolute.