A Man of the Present

So I sat at the corner
At past and future
Tempted to see
What might be
On either side

In the past I could see lit-up windows
Right above fire escapes
With silhouettes of ex-girlfriends
Waving to me
Waiting to see
If I'd want to walk
Down Memory Lane

'I'm too tame for you now,' I want to tell them
But instead I suspend two feet
Above a park bench
Marveling at the glucose-nature
Of time and time's passing

On the other side of me
Things are shadowless
And yet, somehow
More ominous

People come by and question me
But I can't see an inch in front of my face
So I replace my answers
With more questions
And somehow through this quagmire-y method
We find our answers

There is no night
There is no day
There is nothing indicating
Specific instances
Of time or place

There is a moment
That surrounds me
Like an off-green and off-blue bubble
A dome, a force field
And I know I can stay here
If I'd like to
I can remain here
Until I feel compelled to move
A compulsion I don't think would come upon me
Anytime soon

Right now
I am a man of the present

Stronger than a man
With a yearbook in his hand
And gravestones in his eyes
Determined to keep alive
The five things he can remember
About yesterday

Or a man with so many plans
They fall out of his hands
While he begs others to understand
That at some point his forward motion
Will transition into a destination

I choose not to be
Either of these men

I chose to be a fig tree
Or a diamond cement square
Something kids can hopscotch over

I elect to be eternity
Rather than what was or could be
And I do this simply
By remaining in the present