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Present Tense Poem
13 years ago
General
Found this a long while ago. Re-found it again today.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was spring, But it was summer I wanted,
The warm days, And the great outdoors.
It was summer, But it was fall I wanted,
The colorful leaves, And the cool, dry air.
It was fall, But it was winter I wanted,
The beautiful snow, And the joy of the season.
It was winter, But it was spring I wanted,
The warmth, And the blossoming of nature.
I was a child, But it was adulthood I wanted,
The freedom, And the respect.
I was 20, But it was 30 I wanted,
To be mature, And sophisticated.
I was middle aged, But it was 20 I wanted,
The youth, And the free spirit.
I was retired, But it was middle age I wanted,
The presence of mind, Without limitations.
My life was over.
But I never got what I wanted.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was spring, But it was summer I wanted,
The warm days, And the great outdoors.
It was summer, But it was fall I wanted,
The colorful leaves, And the cool, dry air.
It was fall, But it was winter I wanted,
The beautiful snow, And the joy of the season.
It was winter, But it was spring I wanted,
The warmth, And the blossoming of nature.
I was a child, But it was adulthood I wanted,
The freedom, And the respect.
I was 20, But it was 30 I wanted,
To be mature, And sophisticated.
I was middle aged, But it was 20 I wanted,
The youth, And the free spirit.
I was retired, But it was middle age I wanted,
The presence of mind, Without limitations.
My life was over.
But I never got what I wanted.
Present tense is more like:
I walk into the store, opening the refrigerator door and grabbing an Arizona Iced Tea off the shelf, taking it to the counter. I pay $1.50 to the clerk who pays me two quarters change out of his cash register from the two dollars I hand him in payment. Some tall man walks in the automatic doors and then levels a gun at us, saying "Hand over all the cash!"
I immediately duck, accidentally grabbing ahold of the snacks wire rack, spilling snacks all over myself. The clerk takes advantage of this moment of distraction to grab a baseball bat from under the counter and fling it at the robber, it sailing over my head and striking the man square in the face.
His gun goes off, the sharp report making my ears feel like they're going to explode, ringing violently, as the assailant is knocked on his ass by the force of the bat and kickback of his own weapon. I stay down, unsure when it is I'm going to be able to hear again, but fumble in my coat for my phone and dial 911 despite not being able to hear.
You see, there's no past tense, just a lot of -ing words and adverbs.