David Kavanagh | + Follow Poet |
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My present to you

Now, we all know there is a past,
but what we tend to overlook is
it can only be observed from the present, 
or in hindsight

The same goes for the future
It can only be imagined 
or extrapolated from the present
with a bit of foresight of course 

Which leads to a curious question,
Is the present where everything begins?

Sounds ridiculous and counterintuitive 
because Yesterday was yesterday, 
and tomorrow will be tomorrow
And honestly I agree, 
but only when viewed from today

All right, let’s scale this up a little
Let’s go all the way back 
not to the Big Bang or creation 
or any of that mad stuff, 
I mean way before,
to the moment something, anything, 
first came to be

Where did that absolute point extend from?

I promise,
I’ll get to that presently 

But first, let’s jump ahead
way ahead into the future 
To the end of all ends
the point where nothing else can come after, 
Yeah that should be far enough 

Okay, back to my promise 
to explain the point where 
everything starts and ends 

Well it should be pretty obvious by now, 
Everything starts in its own present.
The past was full of presents 
the future will be too

And the most important part 
you/me as conscious observers
bridge it all together
with our perception of present time 

So there you have it,
Infinity and eternity 
once thought to be endless 
and originless all explained
in one fell swoop, 
by some guy with a 
very questionable imagination 

By now it’s quite possible 
or highly likely you’re thinking 
Come on! I wasn’t born yesterday!
and that’s ok 
Because I might die tomorrow
and still command the centre of attention

      present starts and ends
      our future only extends 
      whilst the past depends

By
David Kavanagh

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Paul Willason Date: 6/17/2025 12:26:00 AM Now this is a classic poem for the thinking person, entering the head innocently then exploding into thought shrapnel about the nature of TIME. Your premise is logical and presented with entertaing insights. They say poetry is an attempt to transcend time...doomed from the start. You have to be a photon to accomplish that feat. Great writing David...kept me mind flickering for hours. Login to Reply David Kavanagh Date: 6/17/2025 3:13:00 AM Thank you for taking the time to read this one Paul, which was actually written in yesterday’s present lol! It does make the mind flicker if one can grasp the concept of the ever present, I mean that moment before anything ever came to be, is quiet possibly intrinsically linked to that moment nothing else will come after, ie oblivion, as in before birth and after death, an instantaneous metaphorical crossing of the international date line from one present into another, a möbius strip of ever presence, Cheers David