! Presence Of Mind Poem by Michael Shepherd

Saints and wise men, so it’s said,
live entirely in the present moment,
don’t hang on to past things,
don’t plan for the future;
live a life of here and now.

Jill, however, who also
lives for the moment,
gets invited to every party,
loves to meet you,
bubbling with life,
never short of conversation,
an ornament to society,
a gift to hostesses;
discreet, too, so they say..

can’t remember if we’ve met before;
makes an appointment for us to meet again
in a certain pencilled tone of voice,
betokening a friendship more eternal
than one with a future,
never quite keeps the appointment,
the reason so charmingly explained,
should you be so tactless
as to mention it, that
it’s almost a compliment to you;

a little short, perhaps,
of sainthood; but we love her…