Staying Alive Somewhere Between Past And Future Poem by John Tansey

The past is mournful,
the future uncertain,

All we have is what slips by
through this wormhole
of the setting sky,

It is dangerous to unearth what you have done
and frightening to know
what you might,

So stay safe in the now,
stealing each moment like a thief,
skulk in the shadow of the clock;

move as it moves, stop as it stops

Do not remain in the past,
nor leap too far toward the future,

Rather, stay in the present,
in its swirling circle of klieg lights,
the one enlightened spot,

Whirl, as Shiva,
at the edge of the stage, twirling
until the curtain drops.

And if, at some pivotal point, pirouetting
from the scheduled order,
you mistake a tardy toe step,

Slip, miss or lose the beat,
tripping over your foot
out of the spot light,

Then smile, like the Buddha,
having stumbled upon some timeless
organic laughter,

Regain your spot,
your composure, your center
and find the rhythm,

The rhyme, the measure, the meter in a breath of time
that sets the bodies clock,
to the tide of the pulsing heart.