Arithmetic Divides

Arithmetic divides
and rules the world,
freezing the flow
in single frames,
colourising each
by numbers.
The news of maths
is slow-tick cinema,
each increment's
a gritty bit,
catching at the throat
of the hourglass.
The light it sheds
is stroboscopic,
splitting less
from little,
so we can pause
the world
and step right off
to watch and catch
its drift as if
the clocks were slowing down
or we were growing smarter