Time on your hands

Time is lying
still
on your palm
like an injured bird

In times like these
the world
seems to
hold its breath

But soon enough
the clock on the kitchen wall starts ticking audibly again
and while you listen, it seems to tick faster
and faster still

And all of a sudden time is running through your fingers like so many drops of water
and you move faster and faster still

But soon enough
you realize
you're still
too slow
to catch on

Only the early bird catches the worm

How early do you have to rise to catch time
who, after all, is no worm hiding away in the smooth warm earth
but a powerful bird whose speed outruns even space itself