stepped forward into Brush Knee, said
one way to slow down
is to imagine you are following
just the barest hair’s breadth
behind the movements
of the one ahead of you.
Nothing measurable to the eye.
This is not new, yet
today that pause of space enters me,
stays with me as I leave class,
choose tomatoes at the store,
wait in line.
I move with time opening out,
opening out,
until I remember the hour, my car
in a metered zone,
try to reach the crosswalk
by the last green second of the light,
and feel a brisk air kiss,
a rush of cold air
with the sting of a slap.
Published in Cider Press Review, Volume 24, Issue 4.
M. S. Rooney lives in Sonoma, California with poet Dan Noreen. Her work appears in journals, including The Blue Mountain Review, Illuminations, Leaping Clear and Superpresent and anthologies, including A Walk with Nature: Poetic Encounters that Nourish the Soul (University Professors Press). Her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
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