The Essence of Now

Borne on the currents
of our five senses,
it sponges the outer layer
of our minds.

There are no crevices
where it can settle, no pores
it can seep through
to nurture our spirits
and sustain our bodies.

We gather around the spire
of midnight; fold our past
indiscretions into narrow
grooves of forgetfulness
and begin painting today
with a flourish

trying to conceal our fears
about the moment

when now
disappears.




To Know Forever

Forever has no skin to peel,
no inner core to touch, no string
to tie beginnings to their ends.

Because its vastness is so great,
a measurement does not exist.
There is no "when". No sense of now
or then or soon-to-be; no thread
to mark the passage of our lives.
I ponder this, and wonder if
infinity is all or naught?

I feel a sense of awe to think
one day I'll leave this time-bound realm.
And yet I tremble at the thought
of knowing what forever means.


© Laryalee Fraser


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