Hourglass by Tom Zimmerman

 That shifting pile of grains, my lifetime of decisions,
leads me here: Too late for “now.” Only “then”
and “when” in the toolbox. What to build
with that? What to fix? How well
have I learned to use these
tools? How many scars,
misshapen nails along
the way? Sitting
back
is
more
uncomfortable
than I’d thought, and
there’s no good traction
here to push myself ahead.
All’s abstraction. Subtraction, de-
spite the slow accretion. Maybe that’s
the reason that I sleep: respite from the
endless need—hurry up please, it’s time—to decide. 
Photo by Jordan Benton on Pexels.com

About the Poet:

Thomas Zimmerman teaches English, directs the Writing Center, and edits The Big Windows Review at Washtenaw Community College, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. His poems have appeared recently in Everything in AspicTigershark, and the anthology Nocturne: Poetry of the Night.

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