TIME TRAVELER
When I was young
I thought Christmas would
never come.
Between each tick of time
and the next seemed forever.
Now the ticks stream by almost
as one, and I wonder if
time is real.
Am I simply a ship lost in the fog
leaving the past in my wake,
or is my voyage upon the sea
of time a dream I cannot escape?
I’ve been reading a wonderful book called Dark Orbit, by Carolyn Ives Gilman, a science fiction written by a curator for the Smithsonian Institute. I keep thinking everybody else is reading it too, since aspects of time come up for so many poets. I suppose the solstice has an influence, too! Good poem.
ETERNITY
Time is not a river
as I had supposed,
nor is it a deep well.
Instead, it is a
vast ocean
–the present a wave
passing through and upon
its crest we ride,
until we reach some far shore
beyond the tick of time.
time is such a mystery, Rae.
it both creates and destroys.
it’s there at our beginning,
then shadows us to the end,
it’s so often wasted in the
warm oasis of our youth, then
both cherished and feared
as we grow older, and its
steep hills grow ever steeper
and colder. it’s a thread
winding through our lives
stitching our thoughts and
experiences together and
binding us to our memories…
the poem “eternity” i don’t
feel comfortable posting
without an opportunity to
suggest what i mean by
eternity and a far shore.
eternity is not a long time.
it has nothing to do with
time. as joseph campbell
used to say, it shuts out time.
it’s simply a state in which
time is arrested, stilled by
an overwhelming experience
of life’s mystery. and the far
shore is actually right where
we’re now standing. though
not recognized as such it’s
present always and everywhere
without and within us. as the
mythic figure jesus said,
according to the gnostic gospel
of thomas “…the kingdom of
the father is spread upon the
earth but men do not see it.”
mystery is everywhere,
and i have long considered
it a responsibility of poets to awaken
us to that mystery and to help put
us into accord with it. and time
is one of life’s greatest mysteries…
Be a cruise ship and enjoy every minute!
thanks Allison…how about “experience” every moment and captain your own ship? i always “enjoy” your replies
Allison, your reply got me thinking. would you do me a great favor and read the poem i posted i believe on the third titled the descent ? i’d love to get your response!
calming music