Each thing I do, I rush through....

[Lyric]

Pursuit, by Stephen Dobyns

Each thing I do I rush through so I can do
something else. In such a way do the days pass -
a blend of stock car racing and the never
ending building of a gothic cathedral.
Through the windows of my speeding car, I see
all that I love falling away: books unread,
jokes untold, landscapes unvisited. And why?
What treasure do I expect in my future?
Rather it is the confusion of childhood
loping behind me, the chaos in the mind,
the failure chipping away at each success.
Glancing over my shoulder I see its shape
and so move forward, as someone in the woods
at night might hear the sound of approaching feet
and stop to listen, then, instead of silence
he hears some creature trying to be silent.
What else can he do but run? Rushing blindly
down the path, stumbling, struck in the face by sticks;
the other ever closer, yet not really
hurrying or out of breath, teasing its kill.

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I was struck by this poem today while browsing through a book I found at Goodwill. It really is very telling, that we humans are always in such a hurry to put distance between ourselves and our shortcomings. It made me remember to take time to enjoy the moment, rather than endlessly looking ahead to when things "will get better".

For all I know, right now might be (in many ways) the best that life will ever be.