An Ode to Now 

by Laura Jenkins

Live.
Throw all your shoulds out
the door. The musts must go
the would’ves too.
“I could’ve,” “I might have”
have no place
in
this
moment.

Unwrap the fortune in front of you
the velvet purr of a cat
the echo of effervescent laughter
bubbles flying upward like a cup
of delicious dance.
Place it in your mouth,
swirl it
twirl it
a mouth-watering cocktail
for your tired taste buds.
Let it roll
off your tongue
the sweet juice of now
running
down your chin.

Leap into this moment
don't think!
Fall
off the edge
with arms flailing
eyes and mouth wide open
hair trailing behind you
like Halley's comet.

Stay in this moment
don't stop!
Keep it going like a hula-hoop wrapping
and slapping your hips
while it takes your ass
for a ride.

Breathe.
Let the steam of time-stand-still rise
and seep in to your jumbled head
coloring it blue and pink
and red.

Before long
the weight of yesterday
and the concern of tomorrow
will conspire again
to hijack today
rogue thieves
who stalk every tick of your clock.

Your only defense
is to let this moment burrow
under your skin and explode
in a million little ways, snippets of joy
slivers of gratitude, shreds
of hope. Let them bind
to the molecules of forgiveness
eager to roam
from the top your head
to the farthest reach
of your toes.

Embrace yourself
in all your broken glory
in every single story
the ones you’d tell by the campfire
and the ones you keep locked up behind
steel doors so cold your tongue
would stick to them
forever.

Ignore the past;
it’s gone.

Release the future;
it’s at best a pie
in the sky.

Dance with the seconds,
grabbing big hand
and little
making your way across
the circular face.
Don't let even one number
sit on the perimeter
of the room
timidly holding a card
that hasn’t been punched.
Instead, seize its hand and pull
with a fancy flair,
making your way
to the spacious gift we call
the present
and dance the night away.