Variations on a Theme

Lately, I've been thinking about time.

How fluid it is,

how long it takes,

how quickly it goes.

The subject isn't new, I know.

When I'm anticipating something,

( a trip, a concert, a birthday)

I think Oh, I can't wait...

But eventually

it happens

(or it doesn't),

and suddenly

wow

it's two weeks later.

When I know that something will get better

(from a wound, to a lost love, to a death)

it's that endless stretch of time,

that limbo,

when the pain is fresh.

I think back to my childhood,

the birth of my children,

last Christmas,

last week--

how amazingly distant,

how seemingly recent.

Even 1960 seems like

just yesterday...

but it's part of my now

and changes my future

you know?