Thursday, April 16, 2026

1883 - Times Three

 


Photo: from our garden, with watercolour filter overlay.

What's Going On has the prompt: Write a poem of THREE stanzas only.  
Begin the first stanza with the word "Yesterday".  
Begin the second stanza with the word "Today".  
And begin the third stanza with the word "Tomorrow".


Times Three

Yesterday is golden,
Viewed through gauze.
It can be perfectly good—
Or irretrievably bad.
Or sometimes a mixture of the two.
Defying change or correction.
It is nuggets of memory,
Sifted from the mud 
Of day-to-day life.
Snippets.  Snapshots.
Usually wrong.
Today is blunt.
Stuff to do.
Wash.  Clean.
Mow the grass.
Empty the bins.
Chop wood.
Water seedlings.
Hang stuff.
Fold stuff.
Cook meals.
The tyranny of now.
Tomorrow is uncertain.
Dreams. Wishes. Aspirations.
These are the seed trays
Of the days to come—
The perennial plants 
In the garden of hope.
But it is by no means
A certain harvest:
Weeds. Drought. Pests—
Birds poo on your crop.
Tomorrow’s tomorrow?
Plant again.

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2 comments:

  1. Oh what a poetic expression of the human mind's antics. Yes, exactly and if we remember all this, we can live fully in the wood chopping, washing and cleaning. This is a very elegant work - showing us that illusion of time and mind's childish stories and illusion of control. Thank you for it.

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  2. Amazing how old times turn golden, while the living through them was not gold.........an amazement to me, as that has happened to me. I most love the perennial plants in the garden of hope. Thank heaven for hope! So happy you linked with us, Cosmo.

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