Recursive Time
Artwork by ValleSy
Time is free, but we never fully treasure it.
We often feel like we don’t have enough, yet we waste it on so many unimportant things.
This poem is meant to be a reminder of this.
I hope you enjoy both the artwork and the poem!
Recursive Time
He once swore
he had time
stacked it like old,
half-read books,
their spines cracked
by forgetting.Regrets arrived,
sat long in silence,
but he left a chair
for lost dreams
that never returned.No knock,
no sign,
just dust in the keyhole,
dry tears echoing
like footsteps
on the floor of thoughts.Each year,
he veiled the windows
with printed memories.Hands once swift
now float slow,
searching on the glass
a moment
he cannot remember.He turned,
certain he had kept it
but the memory
had slipped
into the breath
between two thoughts.And he learns:
time was never his to keep.
It faded
in the ordinary,
in the lines on his palms,
in coffee left cooling,
in days that passed
through closed doors.It never stole his life.
It only waited,
patiently,
offering itself
for nothing
but his presence.The tragedy
was never time moving on,
but him forgetting
to walk beside it.
Thanks for reading!
— Valle —
P.S. Thanks for reading! If you like the style of my newsletter centered around visual art, I’ll be more than happy to have you join, so you can subscribe to my visual interpretation of life.
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Feel free to express your thoughts in the comments! I read everything!
Les Murray says something about being stopped in his tracks, while reading poems, and asking "Now why did the poet do that?" This happens all the time. It's part of the code-breaking. When a word or phrase appears that's arresting, it does two things: it challenges my perceptions of seeing/hearing/feeling, and it moves me into new territory. By this I mean an altered state of awareness that's akin to an extended daydream, where all my senses conspire to provide fertile and syntactically engaging words or lines. It happens rarely, but when I'm there I tend to make the most of it, for days sometimes.
This stopped my square in my tracks, Valle. I do believe that you are a very very strong writer. And I would like to start a correspondence with you. Talk about our writing and other things regarding art in general. Subscribe, for I have done the same. I imagine our bonded will power with these exercises will bear much fruit. Will be reading through your posted ouvere today! I'll be in touch.
Looking forward.
Oof, this one hits hard, beautifully written!