Obviously something went wrong, but what actually happened?
I dl'd Conky Metro Clock from Deviantart (published 2011). Then I did as instructed:
Extract the files .conkyrc and .conky_start.sh to your home folder.
Run "chmod +x ~/.conky_start.sh" in a Terminal.
Add ~/.conky_start.sh to your Startup Applications.
I can see the widget in the CM list, but it doesn't show on the desktop.
You must have the conky software itself installed, too.
In terminal run:
sudo apt install conky-all
I highly recommend using Conky manager to help you position, edit or move conky objects around:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ubuntuhandbook1/conkymanager2
sudo apt update && sudo apt install conky-manager2
Yes, I have it installed. "CM" stands for Conky Manager 2. Sorry for the possibly misleading abbreviation.
Note, it's from 2011 so it might not work as intended. Then you have to edit it in a text editor.
No... I just read too fast, is all...
Have you adjusted the position of the conky, in case it appeared off screen?
Try zeroing it's position.
That's probably why. I think it's better if I find the newest possible one to start learning the code from." 
I didn't know about that possibility. Let's explore it... And by the way, I have just started learning Zorin/Gnome. I only installed it about a week ago. Before that I was messing with Debian/KDE
Finally, I found the problem—it was one damn missing comma. Now my very first widget is done and working.