As if to assure him he was in their mind

Now they were nowhere to be seen. The day
Became oppressive. Trees reached silently
Against the light-filled, unapproachable sky.
The glossy pool lay shtum, and would not play.
What had come over the sun he could not judge.
The petunias' puce had never seemed so hot.
A fly whined its unique and languid note.
Time which speeds by stood fast and would not budge.
Then they came back. They were subdued and kind,
As if to assure him he was in their mind
In that weird interval when the world was static.
And time started again. Trees became normal,
Flies buzzed as usual. But they still seemed formal –
Almost, he thought, they seemed apologetic.

DM Black, "Some People Just Aren't Reliable"