Unexpected Halt

Chipped paint catches headlights,

a bump, sudden and cold.

Wheels jolt—my heart too,

thrown off rhythm

like a broken metronome.

Memory spills, splinters—

the bump a knuckle against the night,

a knock that shakes loose

shards I left piled in corners,

things I never cleared,

forgotten weight beneath my tires.

A slow crawl forward,

not quite stopped,

but stalled, shaking loose

fragments on the street

like shattered glass

waiting to slice the next step.

Pause.

The night breathes,

empty and waiting.