Standstill

some while ago I was trying to pinpoint the exact moment when time started flowing so fast
i could barely remember how it was like before the ouroboros of deadlines,
the rash decisions and
the constant white noise headache.

and i know i wanted it back
the standstill
the near catatonic slow down of time
and then it happened

i inhaled and by the time i took my next breath a lifetime had passed,
history ran its course,
worlds died and were rebuilt

i remember the pain
spreading like wildfire
as my lungs were contracting
desperately reaching for the next gasp

i remember people screaming
but i couldn't make any sense of it
in all that rumbling noise
of collapsing atoms

there it was:
time stood still
in between the spark and the flame,
in the IV drip,
between the verse and the chorus,
trapped in the after-candles.

and then the world just kept on spinning...