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