Right Now, This Instant

I

The dread and regrets of the past, weighing you down,

akin to a black anvil on your chest, in the dead of night.

The anxiety of the future, the apprehension, the yes cynical

outlook on the coming years, so far away yet terrible indeed.

Amidst it all, the now, the only time that matters truly;

solace in the bliss of the fleeting present moment.

II

... And so what if the statue falls tomorrow or in a hundred years?

So what if the ruined castle erodes through time, forgotten at last?

So what if a life's work, a life's worth,

compounds in the end to nothing at all,

mere lies of a dead body?

III

Is the bird worried about the coming years,

is the flame troubled by the shortening wick,

is the sun, hell, is the local supercluster of galaxies we call home,

ever question their existence?

IV

No.

Everything simply is, ever in the present, and everything else;

mere shadows on the wall, eccentricities of the mind,

distractions from the now,

so unbearingly precious and yes oh fleeting

V

What more is there, really, than the warm hug of a lover

or a night spent with friends, exploring the city

the goosebumps after listening to a new song

and all the moments that make us who we are, truly,

tethered in the now, the only thing that's real

and so embrace it and cherish it, this instant,

lay down your regrets and doubts,

for this is all there is, nothing more, nothing less

Right now, this instant

this instant-