Just In Time – Brittaina Goffy
Just In Time – Carol Forrester
It was always by the skin of your teeth,
a hair’s breadth,
a fingertip,
a quarter of an inch,
a whisker,
a jot,
just in time.
You had no interest in cushioning yourself,
instead you barrelled in full force
let the concrete skim past,
admired the scuffs on your skin from that last close call.
Did not look back to see how near it had really been
or how much wreckage you had left in your wake.
Watching you I could feel the hitch in my throat,
screams trapped behind my thorax
convinced that this time you’d crash,
you would burn and I would have to watch.
I did not have to watch.
In the end it was sudden and unexpected.
When I check my palms there were no half-moon scars
no pulse jumping beneath my skin,
just quiet
so heavy and dark you vanished into it
and were gone.
You were gone
and we were out of time.
