[Muskrat had taken to wearing a watch.]

Muskrat had taken to wearing a watch.
It didn’t tell time;
there were no hands or numbers on it.

It was specially designed
to give a tiny electric shock
every few minutes.
He found it prevented him from
dozing off or daydreaming,
as he was inclined to do.

To deal with his condition,
he had also begun shaving off
patches of his fur
in order to tattoo helpful phrases on his skin.

These include
(but are not limited to)
the following:

“You are me.”

“You wrote this.”

“This is now.”

“You are alive.”

“This is real.”