A LITTLE MORE from the MUSE …

It’s almost certain that the vast majority of my readers will be familiar with the nagging and sometimes panic-inducing feeling of being short of time. There’s even a word for it these days – time-poor; although in my case, time-absolutely-skint might be more apt. Full of confidence, we set ourselves a collection of tasks which are affectionately titled ‘Things To Do’. These may be in order of importance and priority, but trying to follow that sequence demands strong flesh as well as that willing spirit. I, for one, seem to be doomed to fail. And setting time limits doesn’t help.

Here’s a poem I jotted down one day – probably procrastinating at the time!

TIME LINE

It’s time to make a list:

a ‘to do’ list; 

time to do a time-line timetable. 

The task:

 to find some time, to make

the right time to table the list of tasks:

a ‘ticklist’ to do sometime; some time

when the time is right.

And sometime, at some later time,

to do the tasks; and then

to find the time to tick the list, tick off the lines.

But time ticks by. The clock is ticking: 

ticking tick tock, ticktock; a ticking timeclock.

Tick by tock; 

crossing off the time –

the time I need to do the list. 

I need some time 

to cross things off the timeline;

some time to tick the boxes: tasks 

ticked off, crossed out, crossed off.

And, in time, sometimes (because I’m out of time), I’m cross!

At times, it seems, there’s no time –

no right time for ticking boxes, for 

crossing the line of time. For crossing out.

And still the ticktock clock is keeping time:

 tick tock, ticktock; ticking on time, ticking off the time.

And so, for me, there’s no time,

no right time in my timetable, in my time-line:

no ‘list time’, no time to do the ‘to do’ tasks.

Still just the lines, the list of tasks, the tickboxes.

No ticks, no crosses, no crossouts. 

No time!

Maree