(a little Christmas Eve Nostalgia as I remember those who were here last year but no longer...)
Behind us lies what once was the aliveness of Today
Before us who can tell the wherefore of its come-what-may?
Upon a hearth of centuries we scarcely leave a trace
Of this minute existence before After’s long embrace
Still, all that we may make of it and all we ever say
Is always in the twinkling wink of time we call Today
The give and take of sleep and waking seals moments in years
What can we do but our best until time disappears?
For hours keep no tally as they sally through the air
First filtered through God’s mercy then proportioned into
care
Where have and hold of growing old reveals how unprepared
We were and are as twilight never leaves one day un-snared
We cannot count mere moments; who can measure their mute
span?
But oh, the years they render oft impresses thoughts of man
Where choice tenders its offspring and today offers anew
The opportunity to do those things we ought to do
Because the twinkling wink of time will soon soft-close its
eyes
Its quick accumulation of Todays like scattered sighs…
© Janet Martin
