Given my propensity for heavy, ponderous and long poems, let me make a light-hearted attempt at something a little simpler in the here and now.

Once Upon a Time
By John Herlihy

Once upon a time it was now,
Ain’t any other way no how.
The past may come back to haunt us;
The future has temptations to flaunt us.
The past lingers like an overstayed guest,
The future peeks at us like a childish pest.
We take note of the seasons of the year,
That float down life’s river without a tear.
The sun’s warmth in summer, brilliant color in fall,
The chill snows in winter, the fresh hope in spring.
The season’s rhythms have their own mood to bring,
They proclaim earth’s turning thru space on the wing.

Once upon a time it is always now,
My back is aching from pulling life’s plow.
Oh sure, there are moment of heightened now;
But many moments just claim the sweat of my brow.
In fact, there are moments that pass by in regret,
Leaving me feeling a little morose and upset.
Things I should have done to have the moment comply,
With awareness of true reality both here and on high.
But I am not given to fretting and twiddling my thumbs.
Life’s feast sometimes offers just leftovers and table crumbs.
There’s time enough to worry about the sweet bye and bye,
For the moment, it is once upon a time in the here and now.