Searching for the exquisite present

What compares to the present? The present is like a needle Time threading through its eye A needle on a phonograph My record is now on the B side Still, I can't listen to the present The future is encrypted A symphony heard as conspiracy The past nostalgically stained I search for the exquisite The elusive present ever pure The past is a sweaty t-shirt left behind Time is a tall drink of glass Ever replenished on repeat What is full will be emptied Time is a shirt forever laundered The cherished stains washed Only to be cleansed of your sweat I'm apart from you now wondering If I stay present could I be with you Be the needle whatever record may play Be the laundromat to any stain The praxis of now seems futile The future conspires against me On the B side how old I've become The present is not immaculate The present is not kind It ages just like me Even needles will dull Even washing machines break This past is vinyl to MP4 New generations care not for the old The future is not ours to hold My present is a past for the young My mistakes are fodder for seedlings The young will also be compost I shouldn't think futile thoughts Wait for younger philosophers to fail Just like me and generations before We search for the exquisite present Ever elusive and requisite present For us to find love in the present When the record is done When the needle lifts I'll be tucked in my birthday jacket When my stained shirt is washed Bleached and bone white I'll be put on the shelf The present like love is perfect The search is ever futile The record and shirt gathering dust After a thousand years or more Only God will cherish Specks of dust