Outside the Window

Tim Walker

As I listened to indistinct chatter,
surrounded by (good) friends, a burger,
and glasses of tepid wine, I looked—

out the window—and in the shadow
of mid-afternoon light, a moment of sadness
came, thoughts of tomorrow—

beyond the rim of a magical equator
that rooted us—in flash-framed moments of
shared surprise and eager conversation

I wanted to stop time, stay
still where gravity had centered us, but
I could only ease into what was already fading—


Written: 10/16/10