One Long Moment*

H. W. Bryce

For one long moment, I held my breath.

No dog barked, no babe cried,

And for that one long moment,

No one in the world died.

For one long moment, the world stood still –

Nary a leaf did fall,

And the air was filled with good.

The buzzing in my ears stopped;

I could not hear the beating of my heart.

The universe was still.

Nature’s beasts stopped stomping

And no mean thoughts were thought…

A magic hush enwrapped our world.

One can only hope

For many more such moments.

The people, they all looked around,

Silenced by the silence in the world,

But no ship ran aground, no curlew “curled,”

Cars, trains and automobiles

Paused as parked, the drivers sitting still.

If only stillness were instilled

Into the human brain,  its owners would own up

To the benefit of still, where no need to rush

In the dashing rat-race rush to live a life,

And no need at all to brush

A fellow being off. One still moment,

Could be all that it takes. Hush now,

Be still for one long moment.

Perhaps no tree will fall.

Perhaps Klatuu will return with Gort

To stop the arms race and destroy

The atom bombs, in that one long moment

When the earth stood still.

*For one long moment, remember the soldiers in the caves
at Vimy Ridge, Apr 9, 1917 – Apr 12, 1917.

KEEP THE PEACE.

And  visit your loved one who is ill. For one long moment, 
be with your Alzheimer’s sufferer, who, in effect, is waiting 
in his or her cave, waiting for the inner war to stop.

Illustrations from Pixabay.