This is the Place

This is the place

that time is born

quick as its pace

we soon will mourn

such is its grace

we feel a scorn

yet we still race

to hold its form

this impossible chase

of nevermore

 

Time doesn’t understand

this relentless pursuit

when its granted

out of hand

nor the treasure

of our youth

or the measure

of its remand

so it never

gives commute

for the pleasure

of our demand

 

and if you ask

for its name

it may reply

constant change

for if you bask

in the frame

soon your site

is not the same

my endless task

is to break the planes

of the here and now

and can't be tamed

 

 

 

© 2024 Robert Trakofler

Reviews

[Eilis]

I always enjoy the playful lyricism of your work. Even when the subject matter is not cheery or playful you have a way of expressing yourself that is undergirded with a kind of light.

Time is such a funny concept. It seems so simple but if you actually think about it there’s the realization that it’s about as elusive as trying to grab the wind. I have been reading a book about the amount of time an average human can expect to have on earth (which is about 4000 weeks) and how that limitation can hopefully help us understand the finite nature of our lives. But still there’s that difficulty grasping haha. Still I go on thinking I have plenty of time for everything.

I liked, most, the sense you captured here of sitting and watching time do its work. It is a sort of passive work but when you reach a certain point in life this evidence becomes almost painful and certainly inescapable. Watching loved ones age, our treasured places, treasured belongings. Nothing escapes the birth and cycles of time. That was a vivid part of your poem for me that I will carry forward. I do enjoy your poem explorations, Robert.

[Robert Trakofler]

I do believe that your reviews are almost as good as your poetry:) I am on the three year mark of my rebirth after my last heart attack and I guess that makes me keenly aware of what time is a precious commodity to be sure but also I think of the physics aspect of time as well

[Eilis]

That is a big milestone. I’m glad you’re here sharing your words with us today.

[Stella Armour]

i love clocks that tick, not the silent, uncharismic ones that sit and stare.
The tick is constant and time will not hurry its pulse .... life should be like that .

[Robert Trakofler]

I couldn’t agree with you more:) lol I can think of a couple of times my tick stopped it wasn’t so nice:/ thank goodness for pacemakers:)

[Red Brick Keshner]

Coiled, helical -seemingly fickle yet objective… an unhurried force that makes no offers nor demands. What value we give it is used and abused by all subject to it!

[Relic]

If only there was a way to make father time understand our plight with aging.
Love this poem, Robert.

[Lydia Shutter]

We can not lasso time, can we? We can wish for more of it or wish it would speed up. Time does not care what we want. Your rhyming lines are always a pleasure to read. Lydi**

[Robert Trakofler]

Hi Lydia:) it’s so nice to hear from you! Time is such a funny thing it makes everything work it is so essential in so many ways and yet it is still so elusive we can’t even agree what it is exactly lol

[Ern M. Yoshimoto]

time can sometimes pass lightening fast. and the short lines of this verse really reminds us of that feeling. the impossible chase of evermore. i really liked that line. it is full of meaning and emotion. thanks for sharing this work.

[Robert Trakofler]

Thanks for taking the time to read and revise this poem

[keith]

katchy mr rabbit
remember: the holidays are for hasenpfeffer! i seen elmer sneaking round the corner!

[Robert Trakofler]

It’s duck season!

[keith]

well done sir!

[John the Baptist]

Two words stand out in this one: constant change. That is the name of the game on this plane of existence, and this offering has captured our plight beautifully. As it says, time never gives commute for the pleasure of our demand. Only in the sacred moment of now are we saved from this fate.

[Robert Trakofler]

If I try very hard I can be present for about an hour a day and I wish I could be more often but gravity has a way of stealing my moments in it’s movements

[Cherrie]

This is a beautiful arrangement.

Time can not be tamed nor is it generous with its pace
Slow in toil and stingy on bluebird days.
And yet still I long for its favor

[Robert Trakofler]

lol I always joke that if you want to prolong life go to a laundromat and watch the dry cycle I am almost certain time slows in a laundromat:/

[Cherrie]

Now there is a profound truth in that: perspective is a mighty thing.

[Cherrie]

I love the photo you could almost write a second piece about time being cultivated / nurturied.

[Arundass TP]

Nicely written poem. Enjoyed reading

[Robert Trakofler]

Thanks Arundass :)