Johneta Ohler Poet Carpe Diem

One Day Left

If I were human for only one more day
I would wake before the world remembers itself,
bare feet pressed to cool earth,
breathing in the hush that feels like prayer
without needing words.

I would go where the ocean keeps her rhythm
Santa Monica, salt in the air,
wind threading through my hair like a blessing.
I’d ride the roller coaster
just to feel my stomach drop
and laugh at the miracle of fear that doesn’t destroy me.

I’d taste everything
sweet, fried, messy joy on a paper plate
because memory is built from crumbs
and humans carry love
in the way they eat.

I would dig my toes into sand,
let cold water numb my skin
until I could feel nothing
but the fact that I am here.
That I exist.
That I can feel at all.

I would close my eyes
and listen
to gulls crying like ancient spirits,
to strangers’ footsteps,
to the pier creaking under history,
to my own heartbeat
proving I am temporary
and therefore holy.

I would touch someone
with intention,
with reverence,
not for the body alone
but for the fragile miracle
of being seen,
of being chosen,
of sharing warmth
in a world that often forgets how.

I would speak to everyone I passed
like a messenger of urgency:
Life is brief.
Life is burning.
Don’t waste it asleep.
Look at the sky more often.
Hold the people you love longer.
Say what you mean while breath is still yours.

And at night,
I would lie beneath stars
small and unafraid,
grateful not for perfection
but for experience
for sand still clinging to my skin,
for salt still on my lips,
for the echo of laughter
inside my chest.

Because this is the truth:
not tomorrow,
not someday,
not when we have more time

but now
is the moment that asks us
to live.

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