Inspired by a lovely lady who's spending one day at a time.
One day at a time is what we have
(All you can do is love and hope)
By Michelle Morris
21/04/2026
She wanted to live
Even though she didn't fear dying
She was worried that without her
The stars in the sky would stop shining
For her family and friends
For her husband, her sweet
Life would be less lovely
Happy memories incomplete
For some people, we're irreplaceable
We're the compass for their world
Without us, they stop spinning
Life is upside down, in a whirl
And the ferryman, he'll come
Even if we pay for him to stall
We're unable to save our loved ones
They have to survive their own falls
One day at a time is what we have
One day at a time is all we can do
Someday may never come for us
Someday may be a wish come true
For when it's your time counting down
When the sands are almost run out
All you can do is love and hope
For your loved ones to never doubt
© Michelle Morris, 2026
You were always so good
At hiding yourself in the dark
I tried and I tried
To throw you out
Of the furthest
recesses of my mind
And somehow
you are still there
Embedded in
the deepest crevices
of my brain
Where I couldn't see you
Lurking there
in the blackness
For thirty years
Waiting ...
for one of those days
When I'm down and out
So you can kick her
When she's already on the ground
Fighting ...
to get back on her feet
Knees buckling
Remembering how
to stand again
One day at a time
Before taking my first steps
Recalling well enough
How to believe
How to smile
How to run
From the darkness
And away into the sun
Where you can't hide from me
Where light and heat
Disintegrates you to dust
Revealing all
That you are and were
Until there is nothing
left of you
To blow on the wind
… Out of sight
Out of mind ...
One day at a time.
Comes a time in each life
when passed time rouses our thoughts.
Then,, we give scant thought to the future.
Age has left us with no aspirations.
And we’ve accepted the fact that our future,
is the present day.
Who could ask for anyone better?
If I were cold, you would bring a sweater without me asking
When I couldn't see, you were my bifocals so I could see your perfect form passing
How can I do it without ya?
Maybe I'll get my chance
Maybe I'll come up with the perfect words
Maybe my thoughts won't get distorted
Maybe I can't see she's only going to love me
Maybe it's time we see eye to eye sublime
Maybe I'll glance at the most divine woman I've ever known
Maybe she got the best of me
Maybe she'll give me the greatest love I've ever been shown
Maybe my supergirl will send me chills right to the bone
Maybe she is the dialect to my unorthodox text
Maybe I'm angry
Maybe I'm dead to her, invoking ill will not knowing
Or maybe it's like my mama told me,
I just need to take it one day at a time!
morning’s whisper
a touch of sun
something outside murmurs
the touch of memory
love in spring
lost in autumn
solitude
a leaf turned red
falls
it’s monday
time to start again
a blank sheet
a time for poeming
and first drafts
i let lines speak
before i’m
interrupted by errands
later the job
and faceless people
in a long line
and unending demands
i take to the streets
for snippets of life
tires sing
i live for today
a friend at the bar
she pours me an iced tea
i don’t have to ask
i'll dance and sing
at nightfall perhaps
but now it is still
it's morning
it's a monday
a beginning
some people say
televisions flicker
the weekend’s
college football scores
for every loss a win
a brief, sweet conversation
with the bartender
she's been working here
since early this year
we brush hands
One day is done!
Hope will welcome in another one
Wet leaves sparkle in the setting son.
The rain passes and so does the day
Rest now, stop work or play
It's a time to reflect and to pray.
Fear not the change, nor the dark,
One can still walk in the park
But let love, peace and joy be your mark.
Can you dare to apire,
Plan, dream or desire?
Keep the goals; keep the fire!
Seen alotta things in Memphis
Humped alot of thangs down in New Orleans
Been around the block a time or 2
Alot of things that I should have done differently in Michigan
Words that should have been said in Indiana
Decisions and loves lost worn like tattoos on my heart
Good timez always had in Chicago
Beautiful woman remind me of California in the Summer
Shook some cocktails in New York
Drank alot of whiskey in New York
Life of the party everywhere I go
Emptiness when I'm alone is common
Good timez and good people are the perfect combination
I'm a sucker for laughs, drinks and rolling with the punches
Living life one day at a time
When night falls to end the day,
I know some relief is on the way
For I had peace while I slept,
Although in my dreams I still wept
Loved ones close, have drifted away
and distance with ones who stayed
Strangers now help me cope
Sharing stories of recovery and hope
One day this will be in the past
One day I will make a promise that lasts
One day I will have a soul that is mine
But now I exist one day at a time
Have you ever been enslaved by a substance?
Danced with the devil
or gladly embraced your own self destruction?
Have you ever lost complete control?
Had a monkey on your back
Willingly given up everything even your own very soul?
Have you ever stared in the face of death?
Lost everything
Even begged for life's final breath?
Have you ever been brought to your knees?
Disgusted by your own reflection
Plagued by a suicidal disease?
Have you ever sacrificed all those you love?
Been stripped of your pride
Never able to rise above?
This is what addiction is like
Absolute misery
It only seeks to destroy your life.
And don't think it can't happen to you
That is what makes it so insidious
We addicts were normal once to.
I’m still alive
Though not intact
I strive and strive
To stay on track
I try, I fail
I try again
I need to heal
It never ends
The coarse was set
With little wind
My sails a net
It’s hard to win
LIke a tattoo
One stain at a time
What I’ve accrued
Is pain in my prime
I work what I got
With smiles and grins
I want to give up
But fight giving in
So on I’ll go
One day at a time
I’ll go on to
Life’s finish line
lonely
longing
hard pressed
seemingly forgotten,
missing
from
the calendar
of society:
hope
dwarfed
by dark despair
riding
the automatic
staircase
of routine
to
...tomorrow and beyond
take life
day or night
over all
you fall
still make the call
to your self be kind
take life
ONE DAY AT A TIME
Been told by others the following:
You are weak
You will fail
You will not achieve
The funny thing
For a moment I actually believed
I had to find out on my own
Just how strong I am
I drew out my plans
Stood tall as a man
Soon I would understand
When I didn't think it was okay to be on medication
Now I realize it's perfectly normal
It took all the pain and frustration
To come to the realization
That I need medicine to function
I tried many different kinds
Some made me sick
Others had bad side effects
I felt like time bomb ready to tick
I didn't like what I see
I didn't like me
I hit rock bottom
I hit reality
That I can change
I started journaling
Started to write poetry and music again
Reflected back on where I've been
Realized its all about
"Taking it one day at a time"
One Day At A Time
As we consider all our days
just like we have forever.
Forgetting every now and then
our days all run together.
Making plans along the way
saving sunshine for tomorrow
Never knowing what's in store
be it happiness or sorrow.
Forgotten questions once we asked
when life was so demanding.
Answered time and time again
still we lack understanding.
Counting each day as its own
separated by the night.
Yet just one moon will fill the sky
one sun provides the light.
Looking through our earthly eyes
we're blind within our heart.
We cannot see as heaven does
we only see in part.
For every day here spent in life
along with all that's in it.
Looking down through heavens eyes
life's over in a minute.
For though we live a million days
one thousand mountains do we climb.
Still we see all that will be
as one day at a time.
Edwin C Hofert
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