Monday, December 15, 2008

the "to do" list

the best I can


the “to do” list is always there,
and item after item
adds itself as needing doing,
sometimes leaping over others to get quicker notice,

I get to what I can,
and I feel good when I cross off one as done,
and less when I notice the ones that wait and wait for me,
though the goad does focus my reasons to be here,

what’s hardest is to glory in the tension
and know the rightness of holding seeming contradiction
as the best we can hope for--

at the same time to feel good about what’s been answered
and challenged by the call that awaits the response,

to miss and treasure what is past our touch,
to anticipate and treasure what the future is bringing,
and still to live in the moment that realizes
that the present is the only actual manifestation
of either past or future
that we can truly know,

likewise, I contain multitudes
and somehow all of them manifest,
and I am new
and I am old,
and the present births the best it can.

by Henry Walker
December 12, ‘08

1 comment:

RLaszlo said...

I am almost embarrassed to say how much the to-do list poem hits home for me! So much of my day-to-day life is driven by to-do lists, which is actually my best tool for maintaining focus and clarity on what's importnat, and relegating what is minor into a mere reminder and not a ghoul standing over me. -Rebecca