Stall

The power surged once and then swallowed the light,

leaving the apartment to settle and groan.

I was used to the rhythm that held back the night,

a small plastic pulse that I’d claimed as my own.

But the second hand shivers at the base of the six,

a mechanical twitch like a bug on its back.

It’s trying to climb through the silence that sticks,

while my life waits to start in the dark and the lack.