forever is ...
how long until we can open presents?
when do you think we will finally get there?
and the time it takes to painstakingly
lick your way to the center of a tootsie pop.

forever is ...
how long you wish your grandma would live,
the insane mileage lying between here and there
and the time before you realize that you were wrong,
hurting the person you love with your bloody well right-ness.

forever is ...
how long it takes for brownies to cool,
clocks standing still at arrival gates and boat landings,
and the time involved in picking up a dropped stitch,
mending broken china or reapproximating an open wound.

forever is ...
how long you will fight to kill your internal critic,
the unruly length between birth and coming of age,
and the time it will take until you finally get it right,
if you learn to use the infinite stretch of your soul wisely.

forever is ...
so long abused in our insane love affair with words,
too much for grieving or searching out our losses,
and the time needed to make all the necessary repairs;
in careful or careless measure, a medicine and wicked poison.