Marking time
Pacing off dimensions of my shrinking room
Measuring the dwindling space
That is allotted me.
Not so very long ago
A much bigger room it seemed
The walls a distant echo
Lost in some future time.
A careless, carefree space
Marked out in measured cadences
As left-right, left-right marked the passage
Of days speeding by.
Now shadows stretching out
Trace my every step
Reminding me that noon long past
Is just a fading memory.
The frenzy of those early days
Has mellowed and time is spent more wisely
Counting off what matters more to me
As quantity gives way to quality.
So I measure what remains
With careful attention to loss or gain
Placed on a balance of good and ill
Choosing options with greater care.
The days are no longer than before,
Still twenty-four hours as once they were.
When did their their speed increase
To such alarming velocity?
Ah well, tomorrow will come nonetheless
With me or without me.
This room grows smaller than it was.
So much easier to take its measure.
