Category: Poetry

Then & Now + a poem

March 30th, 2020

There’s never been a better time in our lives to start living out our ideals and doing the things that we’ve promised for ourselves.

“One day I will ________________.“
— you (in the past)

Long before the COVID-19 crisis created global issues, many of us had still not followed through on our promises, so we ought not to use these dire times as an excuse now, either.

Yes, yesterday would have been better…

Nonetheless, here we are, set firmly in today—in the now.

Today, there’s a crisis.
Today, we’ve been ordered to stay-at-home.
Today, we’re in a great position to make good on those old promises!

I wrote this poem for people like YOU — those that wish to seize the day.

Today is yesterday’s tomorrow.

The best time was then,
no doubt,
but now is prime,
there’s no better time,
to ignite some fiery bout.

Clutch thy mind and set thy aim,
For now will soon become then.
These days are fleeting.
We know,
We know.
But now will return again.

Tomorrow’s boast: “I am your lie” —
A lesson we’ve been taught before.
So hereafter, we chase,
each day,
with haste,
the scents and sounds we adore.

And nothing more,
No,
Nothing more.
Just the things we adore,
With our now to explore,
We need not want any more.

Tomorrow is the greatest lie of them all.

What we keep delegating to some distance tomorrow, we might as well assume is dead. Sure, patience has immense value, but patience only comes when we’ve exhausted our effort or thought on the thing for that day. Patience comes AFTER we’ve done all that we can for the time being.

Making the best of this life has a lot to do with being present, and living in the ‘now’.

Be here, now, and take a step up Mt. Botl.
Today is yesterday’s tomorrow

March 30th, 2020

Today is yesterday’s tomorrow

A poem by Jakob Gollon

The best time was then,
no doubt,
but now is prime,
there’s no better time,
to ignite some fiery bout.

Clutch thy mind and set thy aim,
For now will soon become then.
These days are fleeting.
We know,
We know.
But now will return again.

Tomorrow’s boast: “I am your lie” —
A lesson we’ve been taught before.
So hereafter, we chase,
each day,
with haste,
the scents and sounds we adore.

And nothing more,
No,
Nothing more.
Just the things we adore,
With our now to explore,
We need not want any more.

AUTHOR’S NOTES:

Tomorrow is the greatest lie of them all.

What we keep delegating to some distance tomorrow, we might as well assume is dead. Sure, patience has immense value, but patience only comes when we’ve exhausted our effort or thought on the thing for that day. Patience comes AFTER we’ve done all that we can for the time being.

Making the best of this life has a lot to do with being present, and living in the ‘now’.

Be here, now, and take a step up Mt. Botl.
The Dividers

March 21st, 2020

Of the dividers, be wary.
Of those that poke and prod, but smile and nod,
then point and blame, but have no shame.

They play the game, they play the game.

We are all more similar than we are dissimilar, but the divider’s don’t understand that.
We are all, to some varying degree,
confused,
inadequate,
flawed,
emotional… people.

But we are all people.

We all love our children.
We all yearn for meaning in our lives, and we all wish life was fair.
We all bleed red.
There is no ‘us‘ and ‘them’, there is only us,

But us is vast.

The bigger us gets, the harder it becomes to understand folks on the far ends.
So, we shout.

It’s not always shouting-in-anger as much as it is shouting-to-be-heard that we, in the middle, hear flying over our heads all day.

If we can help people understand that this is the noise we hear and see, we’ll all be better for it.

The dividers, though?
They like it this way.
So have not a doubt.
They, in shadows, cultivate the crop
— ‘Divide and Shout’.

I know,
that you know,
people like this.

Pay them no mind,
and spend no time,
playing in their games.

We mustn’t play in their games.

Our attention
is their lifeblood.
Connected

March 12th, 2020

We are vastly
and constantly,
further connected,
like never
before in human history,
but only
now,
by twine,
not steel.

Every once in a short while, my ideas just won’t come out in full sentences and proper grammar. When that happens, I tend to write a poem instead.

Click here to see Jakob’s COLLECTION OF POEMS
nineeleven

September 12th, 2018

It’s not what it once was.
Nothing ever is.

I think back to the tragedy that caught the Nation’s attention 17 years ago, and the way everything stood still, collectively suspended, in awe. Together, in awe.

Maybe the last time we stood collectively about anything.
Neighbors that hadn’t spoken in years, sharing tears.
Family who’d procrastinated making phone calls, chatted all night.
Games stopped.
Drama stopped.
Walmart probably didn’t close.

Schools stopped teaching (or testing).
Children didn’t stop learning, though.
I was a child in 2001—a 5th grader.
I learned a great many things that day. There’s a lot I still have not learned.

Are we wiser than our former selves?
Who was the enemy?
That fear, for months following, made every other small issue disappear.
How could anyone do this to innocent people?
We are innocent people, but we are not AN innocent people.
What will it take to unite us again?

Many of our enemies are faceless, big and small. A great many heroes emerged that day and for years after, many of whom are also faceless.

To the faceless, uncommon humans, the hero sort,

Thank you for your courage. Thank you for freedom.

To anybody living courageously in the name of something truly just, at any time, thank you.

Every once in a short while, my ideas just won’t come out in full sentences and proper grammar. When that happens, I tend to write a poem instead.

Click here to see Jakob’s COLLECTION OF POEMS

Category: Poetry

Then & Now + a poem

Today is yesterday’s tomorrow.

Today is yesterday’s tomorrow

The Dividers

Connected

nineeleven