Free Fall

It moved in slow motion,

the condensation making a slick path

across the laminated wood.

I watched the rim tilt,

the water becoming a silver tongue

licking the air before the drop.

I didn't even twitch.

I just waited for the sharp report,

the bright, crystalline death

of a thing that was whole a second ago.

Now there’s a jagged tooth

standing upright in the shag,

waiting for me to forget

and step down hard in the dark.