The One Day Around You
I’ve enjoyed writing for many years. I'm dedicating more time to the craft in my retirement days.
Today
It is
The one day around you
It surrounds you
Some of it ahead
Some of it behind you
This truth remains
Until its name changes
Then it’s a wisp of smoke
On a wild west wind
You remember it
For what it was
And name it yesterday
But the thing ahead is what’s new
Its name changed, too
From tomorrow
And the cycle starts anew
Whew
It is
The
One
Day
Around
You
Today: The False Starts
There were lots of thoughts and ideas that rattled around in my nugget when trying to put this piece together. I finally landed on the version above, but along the way, I had several other false starts, which I've decided to share below in order to give some insight into my personal creative process. Yes If nothing else, they might provide fodder for a chuckle.
First there was this:
There is but one
And when it’s done
It will lose its name
And pass that to its successor
It can be sad
But also glad
But in neither case
Is its time greater or lesser
That just didn't really do it for me. Then I started down this path:
It is what it is
When it is
While it’s here
And until its gone
Then it is what it was
And its called
Something different
That didn't really scratch the itch, either, so I went even more toward the trite with this:
Today is the day after that day
When my troubles were a long way away
Like Paul said
And today is the day before the one
Over which many ponder possibilities and consequences
Like Garth asking
“What if it never comes?"
It’s the one we have in hand
Not the one that once was
Or the one that’s not yet here
Today is the first day of the rest of your life
And mine, too
Start it right
End it right
And it could make up for a lonely night
The lawn is green today
And blooms are on their way
Because it’s a day in May
But also because of April’s yesterdays
That were the todays of the day when they were here
And dropped raindrops, tiny plops
Those showers brought the flowers
And loaded the hidden blades
With nature’s wonderful paint
So they could rise
Show the sheen
Of a brilliant green
Against a blue sky
Individual blades of grass
In focus
As you lay
On your back
In the park
Obscuring what's seen
In the scene...
When I got done with that I kept wanting to break out singing the song from the 1970s Total cereal commercial: "Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Start it right with Total."
In any case, the very, very short piece is where I finally landed after these long rounds of creative struggle. I'm ok with how it ended up, and hope you enjoy it, too.
© 2021 greg cain