.
.
Sometimes only a slowing
so momentary it can scarcely be seen -
as if a dog
chasing something large and swift and important,
were distracted by the white tremor of an overhead moth.
.
Other times a full lifetime tentative, lost.
.
The line of the roof in a child's crayoned drawing
can show a hesitation almost fatal.
The rain
comes to it hard or less hard,
knowing nothing of hesitations's rake-toothed debate
.
And the two lovers
now concealed around the corner?
They fool no one, not even themselves,
pausing in their own shadows outside a locked door.
.
If pleasure requires prolonging, then these lovers.
.
Yet slowness alone is not to be confused
with the scent of the plum tree just before it opens.
.
~ Jane Hirshfield
from After
.
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