Time's Middle

This is one of my favorites...I wrote this circa 2004 / 2005. I love the concept of time and how it affects our lives.

Time's Middle

It's funny how our senses are struck by a slight variance in sight, sound, smell...and we are tossed bck into days gone by and memories past. The way the light of a convenience store glows in the summer night -memories of times gone, not once, but two or three times. My car slides past. Poetic words scroll through my mind but I am driving and they are gone. Beautiful words come to me. And then they are gone, back into the dark corners of my mind, just outside of my reach. I want them to come back so I can capture them with my pen, set them into paper for eternity, but the moment has passed. The thought there, but the words...just words. 

Though tonight I am struck by a photograph, a simple one really. Of a grandfather holding his granddaughters as they experience their first swing set. I am struck by the thought that someday those children will look at that picture and it will seem so long ago to them. The man in the picture will seem to think it was not so long ago at all. 

Time passes differently for the old and the young. 

I see time now from both perspectives. Some memories not so long ago, some just yesterday. The distance of the pictures of my own youth, the closeness of memories of 15 years ago. A strange middle ground I stand. 

And it is poignant to say-either way I look, long ago, yesterday, today, I see Love. I see it in my eyes as a child, in the soft light, in the smell of an old perfume, in the dampness of the rain. I see Love all around me. My parents who are now grandparents, my sister who is now a mother, my husband, my friends. You can see it, no, you can FEEL it, then, now. The time passes, but the love is constant. 
And it's easy and it's simple. A pitched tent, a drive-in movie, a fishing line, a picnic, a cool swim. And two sisters swinging on their swings- Then and Now.

Reviews

[wordman]

young people are having fun,time passes fast older people are waiting on god time moves slow !
grand kids coming over next weekend,it`s the longest week

[Jennesis]

I imagine that whether old or young, time passes at different speeds, at different times of the day, time warp waiting or running. Thanks WORDMAN~

[wordman]

you`re welcome

[WillGrant]

Ha. That's true how time is seen so differently depending on your age. I wonder why that is. The older you get the slower time seems to move. 20 years ago was just yesterday. Maybe the true time machine is old age. The older you get, the closer you get to the past. And if you live long enough, maybe you can complete the circle and relive your whole life over. Your birth becomes your tomorrow instead of your yesterday. Thanks for sharing Jen. Enjoyed reading this :)

[Jennesis]

Thanks Will! For me time speeds up as I age. It's crazy. Thanks for reading !!

[Woody]

so true! the event may have gone, never to return (unless they invent the time machine) but the memories remain and can be revisited when they're triggered by a black and white photograph or a smell.
I enjoyed this little piece a lot.

[Jennesis]

Thank you so much Woody! Wouldn't it be cool if we could go back in time for a visit? Maybe a poem in there....

[Woody]

you may say I'm a dreamer.. but I'm still hopeful that that damn machine will be invented in my lifetime. oh the places I'd go back to!!!!

[Jennesis]

i hear that! I would savor that like a fine wine. Someday~

[....................]

This is so very true. I recently experienced the passing of an old friend and in his final months he suffered from a form of dementia and while sitting in his chair at a long-term care facility, in the middle of a prairie province, he saw icebergs, fishing boats and spent days bicycling along old dirt roads with my father. I realize that he was reliving memories which were rooted in love. This piece makes me think of all the things I love. Thanks for posting.

[Jennesis]

FT, thank you so much for reading this. I love that story about your friend, it's true, in the end, love is what we take with us.

[....................]

Thank you for this story... I needed this tonight, truly.

[Jennesis]

I guess that's why we share our gift, our voice. Take care...