Seemingly So

 

 

Seeming is apparent

It’s never definitely certain,

There is still some skepticism

Lurking behind the curtain.

 

As the drama unfolds

So many things can occur

To question the apparent

And make one more unsure.

 

Seeming is never certain

It is more of a hope,

More like a mechanism we use

To help us to cope.

 

A friend once said to me

Ninety-nine percent is still unsure,

There is some reservation

That looms more and more.

 

It is always the uncertainty

That worries us the most,

And it’s only a hundred percent

In which we can boast.

 

 

There is certainty with God

I can think of no one else,

Not even in the greatest human

And surely not in self.

 

You see, God knows everything

And we do not,

Nothing is apparent to Him

But appearance is our lot.

 

It is all we have to go on

That is, outside of God,

It is somewhat like the lotto

Until the numbers are called.

 

The present is our best bet,

The future is a no-show

And if indeed it comes around,

There is only today to show.

 

How it seems is exactly that

No matter our insistence,

Appearance is an approximation;

It’s not an exact science.

 

Take Longfellow’s timely advice:

Trust no future however pleasant,

However bright it may seem,

Seemingly so is just apparent.

 

Stewart Russell © May 2020

 

No Tomorrow

 

 

Is there a tomorrow?

No, not at all!

Today is all that there is,

Tomorrow is not our call.

 

Life consists of the now:

That is really today,

There is nothing beyond

So do not delay.

 

It makes sense to plan

But to plan today,

It should be pretty obvious

There is no other way.

 

You can’t plan tomorrow

When all you have is now

So, don’t try the impossible

That can’t be done anyhow.

That tomorrow never comes

Is an essential fact,

You do what you can today

And then… relax.

 

Never a now moment

In any tomorrow;

Not a minute from the past

Can we ever borrow.

 

I have heard some talk

About planning ahead

But they did not understand

What they actually said.

 

Planning is done now

It can never be done ahead,

I need not say more on that

So, enough said.

  

No tomorrow!

I need to emphasize that:

And today is not tomorrow

That too is a fact.

 

Tomorrow is a notion:

It’s like an idea in our mind,

The other days we name

But re tomorrow, we decline.

 

Today being Friday

Means tomorrow is Saturday

But do we say its name?

No, “tomorrow” is our way.

 

You’ll never see tomorrow

In the days of any week,

That’s just to make my point

Without getting in too deep.

 

I guess you can say the same

For today and yesterday

But both of these are facts:

One is passed; the other is today.

Tomorrow is never a fact

Neither can we say it will be,

Yesterday was and that’s for sure

And now today we see.

 

“Give us this day our daily bread.”

It doesn’t say tomorrow:

God provides for our todays;

And soothes today’s sorrows.

 

“Act, act in the living present.”

Remember the Psalm of Life?

For there is no tomorrow;

Only today’s strife.

 

Stewart Russell © August 21, 2020