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The Arc of Time
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We speak of time - we speak of history-
Of ages, eras,- but have to admit
Though we seem ruled by Time entirely,
We are not certain what we mean by it.
T’is said that God created time,- but man
invented units, tracts and measurements,-
And calculated Time’s pragmatic span,-
And sketched out the calendar’s lineaments?
And built therewith an arc provisional-
Cut out for temporal experience-
But all its units, whether short or tall
Are pressing onwards- seeking permanence.
Light travels at a finite speed, but vast
The All,--while scanning planets and some star
We gaze not into space,- but into “Past”-
Integral part of Time, seen from afar.
And as you read these words, moments slip by-
Linked to the Past, with Future’s units cast
That gather meaning only through the tie
Of many little units called the “Past”.
We exert “Influence“,- strong is our pent
To sway, absorb, affect, each other’s rhyme,
But Influence’s power is transcendent
And quite beyond the pale of space and time.
Time is a vassal, - a subordinate,-
Obeying different rules from those of space
Where the celestial bodies circulate
To give creation’s master laud and praise.
Who in unfathomable ways sublime,
In ever present sempiternity,
Precedes all things and times and any time
Who with one glance all times can oversee
Our future days, as yet not come to us, -
His ever Present eye sees as “Today”,
Both past and future days He does surpass,
And never will His time nor days give way
Not to tomorrows nor to yesterday-
Therefore the utterance stands ever true
His time will never fail, and thus “Today”
Today, - this day have I begotten you!”
Alive and present all that is - to Him,
That was, that is, and what shall come to be
And what Time’s Master makes He will redeem.
With Time absorbed in His eternity.
Elizabeth Dandy
