Future Tense
The future paid me a visit
wearing a grin of uncertainty
and dressed in elaborate unknowns.
I sensed it wanted to talk
but it seemed reluctant to share details
perhaps bound by a nondisclosure agreement
or maybe fear of a HIPAA violation.
The future held a snifter full of joy
but also carried a large satchel of grief
and a thermos of unexplained weight loss.
It promised that all three were part of my plot
a slow-developing but dramatic screenplay
written, directed, and produced by
friends, loved ones, acquaintances, and strangers.
The future spoke in generalities and conjecture
specifics were fluid and dependent on variables
far outside my immediate control.
When I asked for clarity and specifics,
I only got apologies muttered in a foreign language
something about fate being the cousin of my past
so I didn’t press the issue.
The future was quick to leave the scene
claiming time was of the essence
said it would be seeing a lot of me later.
Before I could even ask its forgiveness
for all the time I wasted in idleness or worry
it had become an encounter of my past
that followed me around, waiting for an opening.
Author: Jim Landwehr
0 Comments