Now, If, When
(For Audrey)
There is the world as we know it,
this minute;
There is the world as we would wish it;
And the world as we remember.

The world of here and now
is stuffed and clanging,
rushed and jagged,
sloppy, lopsided, raw.
It laughs at plans;
forgets principles
for higher priorities;
and sits politely on our fingers
no better than butterflies.

The world we wish
is tidy and scheduled,
sequential, rational,
ordered. Even tiny joys
can be embedded here;
perfect coordinated crystals;
time to talk to friends;
the elegant, weedless garden
reflected in a perfect wine.

The world remembered
lies somewhere in between:
Chaos sieved by love;
Streaming glimpses
re-fashioned by wisdom
into heart-warming,
hand-warming fables.
"I was there..."
celia hooper
December, 1999