Edge Pause

Clack, clack—teeth grind slow,

metal groans beneath the weight.

Hands clutch bars, cold to know

how close we teeter at the gate.

The sky wide, empty, deep,

heart caught tight in a vise.

That breath before the steep,

sharp, silent sacrifice.

World still as wet asphalt,

stretched thin beneath the chest.

The quiet before the halt,

a moment held, unblessed.

Then the fall—

but now, the pause,

a waiting for the claws.