Future Orientation - By Rebecca Horton

Some people can go through life pretending like everything is candy

I can’t

Things fall apart around me as I sit under the charcoal sky

The chair is rusting
The ice is melting
The ink is fading

Our bodies grow old, frail and tired

Toe touches on the trampoline
Or careless swims deep in the ocean
Become nearly impossible

We are gripped by fear, responsibilities, expectations
A heavy anchor begins to tie us to this place
Where once we floated high above like a hot air balloon

And we stop dreaming
Because the dreams don’t seem to ever come true

We stop loving
For fear of yet another heartbreak

The clouds part above us
Revealing an orange and purple masterpiece
That, these days, we barely notice

Cynicism, 
near despair, 
longing

All the makings of a great movie
But nothing that we ever wanted

-

[Rewind the tape to 1990]

Backyard barbeque steaming up the neighborhood
Bright cherry sled rushing down a freshly-powdered slope
Saturday playdates that seem to last for years

What happened
To innocence?
To exuberance?
To wonder?

The wonder of a gurgling seashell on a pebbled shore
The wonder of first love walking home from the bus stop

Whole continent of new world wonders yet to explore

Is there a way to reclaim
Our imaginations?
Our unabashed curiosities?
Our fearless ability to speak our minds?

-

Oh little child
I want you back

I see you in the little boy rollerblading by my office in the afternoon sun
Grasping a nearby pole and spinning around
Stretching arms to the sun
To celebrate the simple joy of the outdoors in late spring

I see you in the wide-eyed wonder of new relationships
Gathering over a meal to celebrate one another
Delighting in the notion of presence
Without glancing downwards into a bag wondering what time it is

Today I see you in five little birds with roasted coffee backs
Prominent ivory stripes and blue speckles of distinction
They dance together on a brick ledge

When did we stop looking?

-

Glazed cataracted eyes
Peel back your lids of unbelief
Just ahead a smile creeps out
From pursed rose lips

A slumbering butterfly
Unfurls its resplendent wings and
The icicles of winter melt into
A hint of spring in the air

My love
Wait
Listen
Savor

No more grasping

Relax your over-eager anticipation 
Into hope, revealed in time

I am coming to make all things new