A REMINDER OF HOW "TIME PASSES" #49, #50, and #51

The mind so often wanders into territory we cannot control. Reining in our thoughts takes more conscious energy than we sometimes have to spare. Lapses are normal. But complete loss of control is unbearable, for everyone involved.

#49

I Will Wait

 

A profusion of color, or dull confusion?
Photo taken at Fremont Street, Las Vegas

She knows it is time.

The waiting is over as her

feet trail along well-worn steps

in an increasing haze of confusion. 

At the landing she pauses to

survey the familiar room below.

Wonders if she could delay just until

the last pie cools on the twisted wire rack. 

Sugary apple syrup

bubbling over, sizzles on

aluminum foil inside the oven.

Certainly, no need to hurry anymore. 

Smoke billows suddenly and without

warning. Perplexed, she listens to

the harsh ring of the telephone,

or maybe what she hears is

only the treacherous
buzzing of the
stove alarm.

Best now to stand right here

And greet the inevitable.

It is past time.

Betrayed by the failing mind of age, thoughts shift and bend until the normal patterns of life masquerade as puzzles that confuse.

 
* * * * *

#50

Time Passes

 

Cherry blossoms mark

Early spring

Ambitions bloom

With the energy expectations provide 

Waves splash the summer shore

In independent harmony

With the sounds

Of childish delight 

Idealistic shards of

Yellow, orange, and red

Blanket a pregnant earth

In breathless anticipation 

Nature regenerates in white slumber

Absorbing a universe gone before

Knowledge shared, to thrive

In the next half century 

Each season offers unique insights and varied delights for adults and children, marking a pleasant though relentless passing of years, leaving ever more obvious traces of time spent and wisdom gained.

* * * * *

#51

The Next Half

Facing forward

with expectant wonder,

she counts crystals in each

purple drop

of rain. 

Thunderous silence

fills her mind with lightning,

trapping future visions in

the pulsing beat

of time. 

Joie de vivre is coursing

through her bloodstream,

soothing rhythms

casting yet

another fate. 

While moonlight

focuses on wave-tossed

beaches, and trade winds

circle ever-changing,

near horizons.

 

* * * * *

Have you reached the half-way mark of your life? Maybe you haven't yet decided when that time will be. Death isn't something we normally dwell on, or discuss daily. But whether discussed or ignored, it is inevitable. Life expectancy can reasonably be set at 100 for many people. Therefore, 50 is a practical number to choose as a half-way mark. 50 cents is half a dollar. 50 years is half a century. Once you start looking at it that way, half a century, you realize that time does indeed pass.

Joie de vivre is coursing through her bloodstream  . . . let it course through yours, also.

N o w !