it’s quiet, the kind of quiet where your heart is the only sound filling the empty room, thwump woosh, thwump woosh

birds don’t chirp

wind don’t blow

sun don’t shine

cars don’t drive

planes don’t fly

water don’t flow

she is like light refracted through an icicle, cold and beautiful, but there is a fire there, thwump woosh, thwump woosh

pages don’t turn

pens don’t write

cats don’t meow

chickens don’t cluck

leaves don’t fall

brains don’t think

he is a broken clock on the wall, gears out of line, half stutter movements stuck in time, thwump woosh, thwump woosh

strings don’t strum

cymbals don’t clang

squirrels don’t chitter

ships don’t sail

doors don’t open

waves don’t crash

yet somehow she enters the room, and sees him there, refraction meets contraction there, thwump woosh thwump woosh

dog starts barking

horse starts galloping

engine starts idling

earth starts turning

fish starts swimming

bunny starts hopping

she sees him there, stuck misaligned, and with a gentle touch pops him back in place, thwump woosh, thwump woosh

smile starts showing

sun starts glowing

water starts flowing

love starts growing

wind starts blowing

life starts going

it was quiet in the room, he didn’t want to move for fear of waking her his heart her lullaby, thwump woosh thwump woosh

bird starts chirping

car starts driving

coffee starts dripping

time starts moving

leaf starts falling

tale starts telling

and she stirs, looks up at him with sleepy eyes and smiles, good morning my love, thwump woosh, thwump woosh