Future Tense

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Worrying about the future 

Makes it quite difficult  

To be happy today.  

That is not to say  

We should not have dreams. 

But too often  

Our slavish pursuit of dreams  

Turns them into nightmares.  

It is difficult to smell the roses  

If we spend our hours in the garden  

Spreading manure and  

Dusting to kill the aphids. 

We must learn to say: 

Today is sufficient. 

This I can appreciate.  

I do not need  

A chorus of angels to sing for me.  

A single mourning dove will suffice.  

I do not need  

The applause of the masses.  

The smile on the face of a friend  

Is affirmation enough. 

I do not need 

To turn the world  

To my way of thinking. 

Understanding my own path 

To peacefulness will do.  

And all this fits comfortably  

Within the soft blanket  
Of today. 

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