Who Needs Esp? Poem by Jim Yerman

Some people profess to have the ability to look into the future they call it ESP.
Most people however don't, I fear, most people are like me.

But who needs to predict the future…it's already coming much too fast
when we are blessed with the ability to see into the past.

Take last week for instance…it happened in a whirl.
We camped at a place where Deborah camped when she was just a girl.

It was on the banks of the Suwannee River and as we watched the river flow
she shared with me her memories from 60 years ago.

She stopped to pause a moment…and thought…how long it's been
since she walked along this boardwalk…(it didn't have rails then) .

She remembers sand along the shore…wearing bathing suits all day.
She remembers canoeing on this river…and friends and family at play.

And as she told each story…my own ability I began to understand
for I could see her walking on this boardwalk…or playing in the sand.

Not today, not this person…not the Deborah I've come to know
but Deborah, that little girl, from 60 years ago.

I could see her, plain as day, standing next to me holding my hand
and as a girl skipping along this boardwalk…or playing in the sand.

Standing next to me as an adult…and 60 years ago when she was small
and I had to smile at the majesty and wonder of it all

And as each memory Deborah shared…seemed move vivid than the last
I once again felt blessed with my ability…to see into the past