Thirty Seconds Between Siren and Shelter
When there are sirens, you don’t have time.
When you don’t have time, you learn what a second is worth.
From the moment the alarm begins
you have between thirty seconds
and a minute and a half
to reach shelter.
That’s it.
Thirty seconds is not a unit of time.
It’s a decision.
You scan your life the way an asthmatic scans words.
What fits?
Wear a robe?
Grab the Dog?
Turn off the stove?
Take the Phone?
Hold your Child?
No room for extras.
If you have a minute and a half, you are rich.
You can rinse the shampoo.
Maybe even use the scrub.
You can turn off the stove
without burning your fingers.
You can breathe once before you run.
If you have thirty seconds,
you choose differently.
Shoes or dignity.
Dog or pot.
Window or prayer.
People who live without sirens
spill seconds like loose change.
We don’t.
Use your time well- Every second counts.
(Ironically, as I write these lines, the siren sounds again. That means I have thirty seconds. So I can not finish this Blo…)