Looking Up

We go through life,     

    walking to fast, 

    speaking to quickly,

    glancing at the world in fast forward.

But when we are forced to stop and wait, 

    we notice that the little boy holding his mother’s hand    

    just wants to be held in her arms, 

    And the old couple waiting for the bus beside us

    can speak to each other with nothing more than a nudge or a     

        flutter of the eyelashes. 

Time slows down when everyone takes a collective breath.     

    Steps slow down, coming to a halt,

    Words lapse to a whisper, then to silence

    and the world slows down enough that you can look up without being swept away.