The scene a suburban lawn
a row of geese
waddling slowly across the grass
all suddenly freeze
and time stops.

Inside homes, dinners are being made, tables set, homework completed
sisters fight with brothers
teen lovers spoon in basements
and down the street cleaning crews comb the carpets of office parks

but in the twilight outside
there is no movement,
the geese seem not even to breathe
stand still as the trees
one with foot suspended mid-air
another, head bent partway toward wing
all caught mid-motion, a photo tableau
displayed on a mantle of grass.

Minutes pass before the space-time continuum unwrinkles
and the geese rejoin the moving universe
their honking complaints mingling again
with those of distant drivers
hurrying home to their own families, lawns, dramas
oblivious to any danger far or near
including the fox that slips among them.