Time is a crazy concept.
It is a fundamental physical quantity. You may choose to not travel through space in your frame of reference, but you have no choice when it comes to time - you always keep moving through it, just as it moves through you.
The fundamental unit of time is the second. And the very experience of reading the definition of a second is a trip in itself:
I think it’s fair to say that I’m quite obsessed with the concept of time, and how it rules our lives. Not to mention all the Einsteinian craziness of spacetime as a single entity, and the mind-bending physics of time dilation.
It’s crazy to think that each day, each night, whether we choose to or not, we are traveling through life one second, one minute, one hour at a time. It’s crazy to think that all these units of time are completely arbitrary in nature, and we could just as easily have had any other number of units to represent time.
As crazy as these thoughts are, I do think them all the time. And some times, I write about it too.
So, today, I want to share with all of you a few poems that I have written on time. On how it flows, how it passes, how we wish we could stop it, or how we wish we could travel through it at different speeds in different directions.
That’s right, you get six poems today instead of just one!
Hope you like these, and do subscribe to Hello Universe if you haven’t done so already!
Alright, poems start in 3… 2… 1!
1) Eighteen
I found a way to talk to me,
from when I was eighteen.
The person I was in my past,
the person I had been.
We had just thirty seconds,
then the portal would collapse.
So none of us had time to talk of
"maybe" or "perhaps".
I looked at him, he looked at me,
not quite sure what to say.
I think he wanted me to tell him,
life would be okay.
So here is what I told him:
"After dark there's always light.
And after light it will get dark.
And after wrong there's right.
This pattern and this cycle,
that's the way that life will go.
Don't let it get you down,
or get it up your head, you know?
Fight for all you think is right.
Don't pursue silly goals.
And love the people in your life
with all your heart and soul.
I think that's all I have for you.
I'm glad we had this call."
He looked at me and said
"Oh, man, that did not help at all!"
🙃 🙃
2) Grown-up
The child came up to,
the gentleman who,
she lovingly called "Uncle T".
She asked him to tell,
how utterly swell,
and awesome would grown-up life be.
"Won't it be nice?
The ice cream and fries,
that I'll eat with thorough delight!
Won't it be great?
To stay up so late,
and watch all the TV at night?"
Astounded and vexed,
Confounded, perplexed,
"You're right, it's amazing!" he said.
But secretly, see,
he chanted a plea,
'I'd rather be seven instead.'
🙃 🙃
3) The Good Old Days
"Aah, the good old days", he sighed,
and stared into the void.
"The fun we had, the stuff we tried,
the life that we enjoyed.
The things we got for little cash.
The games we used to play.
I wish I could somehow rehash,
the life we led each day."
He looked at them and said, distraught,
"This world has changed too much."
The kids just shrugged, and simply thought,
'Oh he's so out of touch!'
🙃 🙃
4) Another Weekend Flies Away…
People do so many things -
we run and jump and climb.
We eat and drink and speak and think.
We even write in rhyme.
We go for walks in pretty parks,
we fly some pretty kites.
And we take pictures when it's dark,
of stars and satellites.
We trade in cash, and make up laws.
We fight some crazy wars.
We have our own inherent flaws,
that mostly get ignored.
But there's one thing we do quite well!
It's really so sublime!
The thing at which we all excel
.
.
.
is losing track of time.
🙃 🙃
5) Kids These Days
(1980's)
Kids these days!
What will we do!
They're always out with friends.
They're always reading comic books
and pushing up our spends!
(1990's)
Kids these days!
They have no clue
of what their life can be!
They just keep watching
silly cartoon films on the TV!
(2000's)
Kids these days!
They are the worst!
They're violent, angry, foul.
For they keep playing video games
and curse and yell and scowl.
(2010's)
Kids these days!
They're getting dumb!
Their brains are gonna freeze!
They're on their stupid phones all time
with stories, posts and tweets.
(Reality)
Kids these days!
What's up with them?
They're always having fun.
The problem really is that
once you're old, you're having none.
🙃 🙃
6) Caution
"Life's too short for caution, dude!",
declared the man with glee.
And with this cheery attitude,
he travelled overseas.
He had no plan, this reckless man,
he had no safety nets.
He just knew life could be more than
a life with zero bets.
So off he went to shores unseen
and mountains high above.
To craft a life that he had been
waiting to live and love.
Well, he discovered that this life
was challenging indeed.
And loneliness, distress and strife,
were always guaranteed.
He doubted his decision, too,
he doubted everything.
But slowly, surely, all anew,
he spread his wondrous wings.
Weeks and months and years flew by,
the man grew wise and old.
And oftentimes a girl or guy,
asked if they too, could be so bold.
"Life's too short for caution, friend!"
advised the wise old man.
And with this cheery attitude,
a new story began.
😊 😊
That’s it!
I hope you enjoyed this 6 in 1 compilation version of Hello Universe!
Do share in the comments below, which poem did you like the most.
I look forward to hearing from you.
See you next week!
Another weekend flies away & Kids these days are my favourites!