theres always that 5 seconds before an accident
when everything slows and you
cant feel anything but a sinking feeling as you
watch mirrors collide and shatter

its the same thing when i see a pair of baby shoes in my store room
that five just five never six never four
seconds
it is enough for something to crumble inside me
i know that i am on the verge of a reckoning

it happens again when i am locked out of my own house
i plead that its just ten minutes
but zeus never listens
leaving me to wallow in
guilt and anger
i just end up yelling at my reflection

its not even five months later when i see
more baby clothing
even a crib
right in place of my old bed
now i know why hera had been so insistent that i take my mirror somewhere else

and for once i obey without question
she places lead in my limbs and
shackles on my ankles
i am told that i need to make a sacrifice to the gods
they want my future
and refuses to hear my pleas or give anything in return
the five seconds happen again when i feel the rush of relief to find that im not dead
but since when have i thought that being alive was better than deliverance ?