It felt like I had been standing there for an hour
Paused
Holding my hand open
Standing still, almost statue-like
For what seemed like an eternity
But, if truth be told,
It had more likely only been
but a handful of seconds.

Eventually the lively bee
Buzzed around me one last time
Before settling very casually into my palm…

FLASH!
In an instant, everything changed.
And my inner eyes were thrust open
To a Universe they had never witnessed before

An assortment of cloud patterns displaying theatrical performances
Played tribute to a library of stories my mind struggled to remember
Reflected back to me from the shiniest of crystal surfaces at my feet

Colours my eyes had never set their sights on before
Danced delightfully in front of me
Around and around
As if taunting me
Daring me to try and find a word, a name
That would even half capture their brazillience

The sounds of creatures big and small, far and near
Spilled out from the trees like an unfettered symphony
Where each instrument had been promised that this very moment
Had been granted to them alone
For their very triumphant solo piece
And leaned into it with fervent gusto
As if playing for their very lives.

Sights, sounds, shapes, my mind could barely keep up
And I swung my head from side to side
Trying not to miss a single thing
This way and that
Up now down and from side to side
Doing my absolute best to take every little detail in

I felt my heart expanding
deep in the cavity of my chest
Towards breaking point
As my emotions raced each other along as if trying
To win some experiential relay race of sorts
An absolute blur of ecstacy meeting empathy head on
While philosophy cracked the whip to veer me once again in another direction.

And just like that it was over.

I glanced around
Having been unceremoniously dumped back into a world of grey
Where cold and tired pulled mercilessly at my feet
As if begging me to retire indoors

I stopped
As my eye wandered across to my hand.
The realization hits me
As I notice that my cheery little friend has gone
‘I guess the saying is true’, I mumble with a satisfied smile
As I turn and trudge back inside towards the light.

= = = = = = = = = =

[For another poem, titled, ‘The very worst of me’, click here]