The Eternal Now Poem by Margaret Alice Second

Playing "That Happy Feeling" By Bert Kaempfert,
the violins playing lightning strikes at me in my
pirate clothes conducting the orchestra, wearing
a gangster's cap when going out as only I can
hear the music to which I'm marching; this might
scare off all suspicion about my strange gait

Using a wide smile overly bright as a decoy to
force people to fixate on my face and thus ignore
the wide black pirate pants and flip-flops when
reserving a table for tomorrow's dinner, back in
the office Saint-Saens comes to my aid playing
white froth and fishes flashing in slanted sunlight

But I long for a fairy tale to fill my heart - now
Nocturne 9 by Chopin slows alpha brainwaves
and slowly I catapult on the notes out of the office
into a scene straight from Nodame Cantabile - to
frolic amongst flowers and trees, Waltz in C-sharp
minor picks up the theme and autumn leaves

Swirl around me as I twirl in roundabouts formed
by swirling notes which enclose my heart in tight
round bundles swerving the turns as the notes
starts galloping again, I'm in fairyland and not
likely to come back till the return to the starting
theme which tears at my feelings and pulls

Me back forcefully, deposited on the soft noises
in the open-plan office; I run back to Nocturne in
E-flat but it's no use, the sadness is here to stay,
Bach's Suite No.3 draws me further away - until
auxiliary services rudely interrupt with questions
as to my ability to survive with just a fan

In temperatures of up to 31 degrees Celsius - of
course I can, misting the air with a spray nozzle;
the mood is spoiled and Mantovani sets in with
Blue Tango so I can dance again with Death and
Renate Flitworth at the Disc-World's Harvesting
Party, after using our straight-bow arm position

We step high on La Cumparsita, never losing the
rhythm to end on a signature Swan Lake Waltz,
as Prima Ballerina I take the lead and magical
silver light accompanies my troupe as we dance
through the night, ending our dream on Liszt's
Liebestraum No.3 circling all souls back to

The here and now - where we're supposed to be
according to Buddhist tradition, the Eternal Now
as Wen declared when he courted Lady Time…

[22 January 2015]