Departure for an Exciting Trip, Pulled Off Without a Hitch

What did you want today to be like
When you were thinking ahead to now?

You weren’t really thinking about now.
You had no experience of now.

You were thinking about today’s date
As upcoming on the calendar,

And then casting your memory back
Over such pasts as you have retained

And trying to make a shadow box
Of this blank spot on the calendar,

A specimen of assemblage art.
So, asking the question differently,

What memories did you put forward
That you would have liked to discover

Waiting for you today? Glowing health?
A love poem of delight in the world?

Or were your desires for now less bold?
Maybe bills paid, adequate supplies,

And something hopeful about the world
That you could pass on to the next date.

There is this—for all the murdering,
Mere quarreling, and exploitation

Members of your species do know how
To do a couple of things quite well—

Have a raucous good time together;
Coordinate on something complex.

Did you wish for one or both of those
When you were thinking ahead to now?