Today

16/01/2021 -  Poem a Day Compilation



Today is the first day of the rest of my …

Oh, who am I kidding?

It’s one of those self-help lines

That gets trotted out

By enthusiastic people

Trying to make some kind of lasting change

In an instant.



That’s not how it works.



Today is when you make a decision.



Today doesn’t erase the past

Or the lessons you are supposed to learn

From all those mistakes you made.



Today doesn’t transform you

From the person you were

Into the person you imagine you’d like to be.



Today is when you imagine.



Today is when you look in the mirror

And tell yourself

You’re better than you used to be,

You’re stronger than you were,

You’re capable of doing the things

That you’ve always wanted to do.



So today is THE day,

And so is tomorrow,

And the day after that,

And all the days next week,

Next month, next year.



You only get one first day,

And this isn’t it,

But it’s as good a day as any

To call that friend,

To send that card,

To draw that sketch,

To write that poem.



You’ll never have another today

Quite like the one you have right now

So, grab it with both hands

And make it your day.



Because every day you have is yours

To change and be better

Or to make the world better

For someone else in your life

That deserves the very best of you.



So



What are you going to do?



What are you going to do with all of your todays?

In battle

Here I sit in quiet contemplation

Regretting all I didn’t say to you

Knowing I couldn’t say it, still

Wanting to be more brave,

Or perhaps more stupid, than before

Because I’ve wanted to tell you

So many times up til this point.

Maybe you know but can’t say

For the same reasons that I can’t

And all that’s keeping us from each other

Is a thirty year old pledge

As worthless as the paper it’s written on.

I didn’t have the courage fifteen years ago,

When we sat together for what felt like forever,

And you confessed to me that it was simply

A vow you had made and couldn’t break.

I was afraid of what you were telling me

And relieved that you didn’t ask it of me

But now my feelings are conflicted

And I don’t know if I want to give in

Or be stronger than I ever thought possible.

I wish I could have relied on Dutch courage,

And been open and honest with you,

Because I’d carry any baggage you had,

I’d take the weight of the world on my shoulders

And receive the guilt that was laid at my door.