Now

[Eugene]

now is the ever present
we walk away from but never leave,
the light between, the moving image,
the word, the scene, the face
the harbor, where love falls
in and out, and we are left
to wonder, what was that?
and why?

o

this is where yesterday ends
where tomorrow wants to be
where escapes are plotted
and sacrifices made

where the holy of holies and
the lags of security
sell promises to the blind
where now remains unseen and untouched
where hope is secured and always
unrealized, in a dream

o

this is where our loveliest
and most painful memories
once lived, where all
our least and greatest ventures
shrivel at their root
where inspiration
and despair find
their depth and height

o

where all becomes nothing
and nothing, all, where in the face
of all that is rational and reasonable,
beyond certainty and doubt,
magic moves the opening of a flower,
turns grass to green,
the grub to butterfly,
holds each star apart,

now and here, behind these eyes
and beyond, perceiving
without hope or fear,
a place that always is,
never was, and will never be

[tectak]

now is the ever present
we walk away from but never leave
the light between the moving image
the word the scene the face
the harbor where nothing arrives
or leaves where love falls
in and out and we are left
to wonder what was that?
and why?

o

this is where yesterday ends
where tomorrow wants to be
where escapes are plotted
and sacrifices made

where the holy of holies and
the lags of security
sell promises to the blind
where now remains unseen and untouched
where hope is secured and always
unrealized in a dream

o

this is where our loveliest
and most painful memories
once lived where all
our least and greatest ventures
shrivel at their root
where inspiration
and despair find
their depth and height

o

where all becomes nothing
and nothing all where in the face
of all that is rational and reasonable
beyond certainty and doubt
magic moves the opening of a flower
turns grass to green
the grub to butterfly
holds each star apart

now and here behind these eyes
and beyond perceiving
without hope or fear
a place that always is
never was and will never be

Punctuation would help.
Best,
tectak

[penguin]

I quite like this, though I think you could cut it by about half. I think the absence of punctuation is apt given the subject matter. For me, the poem is in the first two verses and the penultimate one. Of course, the less there is the closer each phrase or word is examined, so you might want to think about

we walk away from but never leave

where nothing arrives or leaves

in the same verse.
I liked this bit

this is where yesterday ends
where tomorrow wants to be

I imagined you were referring to midnight, but perhaps not and no matter.

I wonder what that 3rd verse is all about and what it's doing here!

[Eugene]

sorry penguin. I wrote the poem with spaces between phrases, but when printed, it failed to insert them. I'll try it again with regular punctuation and see what happens

[billy]

now is the ever present
we walk away from but never leave,
the light between, the moving image,
the word, the scene, the face
the harbor, where love falls
in and out, and we are left
to wonder, what was that?
and why? i like the creation of moving parts within a fixed state.

o no idea what this represents

this is where yesterday ends
where tomorrow wants to be
where escapes are plotted
and sacrifices made

where the holy of holies and
the lags of security
sell promises to the blind
where now remains unseen and untouched
where hope is secured and always
unrealized, in a dream here doesn't seem to fit with there. (the 1st 2 stanzas) which feel philosophical, this feels preachy

o

this is where our loveliest
and most painful memories
once lived, where all
our least and greatest ventures
shrivel at their root
where inspiration
and despair find
their depth and height

o

where all becomes nothing
and nothing, all, where in the face
of all that is rational and reasonable,
beyond certainty and doubt,
magic moves the opening of a flower,
turns grass to green,
the grub to butterfly,
holds each star apart, it feels like a lot of this has already been stated.

now and here, behind these eyes
and beyond, perceiving
without hope or fear,
a place that always is,
never was, and will never be this on the face of it feels good, in reality it just asks wtf, it's lack of something definitive or solid misleads us into thinking wow that's clever and then when we try and decipher it, we can't (or i can't) it tries to be a puzzle of sorts but without an answer, it needs a pay-off.

i enjoyed the 1st stanza, then it fell away for me. there are a lot of words but it isn't saying a lot and it isn't not saying it too clearly.
perhaps if you used a heavy hand and cut most of it down it would better stand up
, remodel it perhaps round the 1st and 2nd stanza.

thanks for the first poem eugene, i hope there are more to come.

[tectak]

now is the ever present
we walk away from but never leave,
the light between, the moving image,
the word, the scene, the face
the harbor, where love falls
in and out, and we are left
to wonder, what was that?
and why? i like the creation of moving parts within a fixed state.

o no idea what this represents

this is where yesterday ends
where tomorrow wants to be
where escapes are plotted
and sacrifices made

where the holy of holies and
the lags of security
sell promises to the blind
where now remains unseen and untouched
where hope is secured and always
unrealized, in a dream here doesn't seem to fit with there. (the 1st 2 stanzas) which feel philosophical, this feels preachy

o

this is where our loveliest
and most painful memories
once lived, where all
our least and greatest ventures
shrivel at their root
where inspiration
and despair find
their depth and height

o

where all becomes nothing
and nothing, all, where in the face
of all that is rational and reasonable,
beyond certainty and doubt,
magic moves the opening of a flower,
turns grass to green,
the grub to butterfly,
holds each star apart, it feels like a lot of this has already been stated.

now and here, behind these eyes
and beyond, perceiving
without hope or fear,
a place that always is,
never was, and will never be this on the face of it feels good, in reality it just asks wtf, it's lack of something definitive or solid misleads us into thinking wow that's clever and then when we try and decipher it, we can't (or i can't) it tries to be a puzzle of sorts but without an answer, it needs a pay-off.

i enjoyed the 1st stanza, then it fell away for me. there are a lot of words but it isn't saying a lot and it isn't not saying it too clearly.
perhaps if you used a heavy hand and cut most of it down it would better stand up
, remodel it perhaps round the 1st and 2nd stanza.

thanks for the first poem eugene, i hope there are more to come.

I will look again at this. sorry but too tired tonight.
Best,
tectak