Finding the time

I can’t find the time.

Has anybody seen it?

Where does the time go?

I look for it in all the obvious places.

In the clock on the wall.

The big numbers on the oven.

The little numbers in the corner of the screen.

And I look for it where it might be hiding.

Is precious time locked away somewhere safely?

Is wasted time lingering in a bin?

I search for it in my calendar,

trying to find the time to write.

But I get distracted,

typing emails.

I seek it out and about,

trying to find the time to walk.

But I get busy,

running from place to place.

I strain to listen out for it,

trying to find the time to be still.

But I soon start talking,

and I can’t hear it over all the noise.

I can’t find the time.

But can I let the time find me?

Time waits for no-one.

Really?

What if time is stood still,

and it’s right over there,

and all I have to do

is let it find me?

What if time can find me

in a long, deep breath?

What if the time will come to me

in the early morning

at the water’s edge?

What if I could meet the time

in the forest

on a summer afternoon?

What if time is waiting for me

around the fire

late at night?

One day, on some level,

I will run out of time.

But what if there are places

in the world around me,

and in my heart,

where time will run into me,

if I let it?

What if I stopped trying to find it,

and I trusted that

the time will find me

when the time feels right.

Rory O’Donovan

Finding the time was written by Rory at Bore Place in June on the Dark Angels Summer Residential.