Time — A Deeper Look Behind the Poetry
Let’s take an in-depth look behind the recent poetic masterpiece and really see what we can glean from its wisdom. If you missed “Time” the first go-round, read it now.
This was obviously written when the author was bored and time seemed to have stood still. Who of us cannot relate to that feeling?! You want whatever you’re enduring to just be OVER! But it seems eternal.
It’s such irony, because when you want time to stand still it just flies by! Lines 3 and 4 allude to this by referring to sleep and the difficulty found in getting up in the morning. Why can’t time stand still at night, and in the morning before you have to get up? But no, no sooner do you fall asleep and that stupid alarm clock is rattling around insisting that it is time to get up. Time evidently thinks it has to make up for standing still earlier by flying through the night!
Or who of us has not been having the time of our lives and then realized what time it was? There seems to be a proportional equation at work determining the speed of time by the amount a person is enjoying himself.
The second stanza in this insightful work recognizes the seeming conspiracy Time has against us. Whenever we want it to move fast it slows down, and vice versa.
As we can see from the resignation expressed in stanza 3, there’s no use fighting this principle. No matter how much we react or fight against the injustices of Time, it’s going to do whatever it wants. It’s going to go as fast as it wants when it wants, and as slow as it can get away with at just the times you want it to speed by.
Truly a mature and wise conclusion. When something comes against us that we cannot really combat in any way, it’s best to wisely accept and deal with it. There we can find peace.
7 Responses
May 26th, 2005 at 4:07 pm
You didn’t get fired, did you Tom? Why all the time to write these posts all of a sudden? Or have you found some hidden secret to make more efficient use of time, and this poem is preparation before you unleash your secret?
May 26th, 2005 at 4:17 pm
Ha ha! I wondered if anybody would notice. I got laid off for this week, they shut the whole plant down.
I didn’t argue.
May 27th, 2005 at 9:06 am
It looks like they’ve got By doing overtime in Virginia.
May 27th, 2005 at 12:14 pm
No kidding. I’ve seen the schedule they gave him for June/July, it’s insane.
May 27th, 2005 at 12:31 pm
Maybe you pose as By on his blog, start posting, and see how long it takes for him realize what happened? Unless he’s changed his passwords since he took over his blog. But that might be rude. But it would be funny!
May 27th, 2005 at 12:42 pm
Right on all counts! I’d love to! And it would be hilarious, but rude. And I’m sure he’s changed his password. He probably knows better!
The first thing I’d post would be something like “First of all I’ve seen the error of my ways and I want to apologize for all my politically liberal thinking. And I officially renounce NPR.”
May 27th, 2005 at 12:55 pm
If he hasn’t changed his password yet, By is gonna be tripping over stuff scrambling to get it changed as soon as he sees this post! Too funny!!