only as i become still
  do i see just how quickly
    ive been moving.

after the tides shift
  from defiant waves
    to gentle fingertips
      grazing the shoreline
        as though it were a piano;

after the bonfire
  sings its lullaby
    to the wind
      lighting only embers
        and humming only smoke;

after the wind
  halts her howling
    and leaves the earth
      frozen in one place;

this
  is the only metaphor
    for when my heart
      closes the door to others
    and only takes glances
  or, rather, stares
into a mirror