"The Sidewalk on a Sunny Day" - a poem by Ted
I'm walking down the sidewalk in the sun,
And take another step, and stop, and then
Go back one step, to the same place, but now
That place has gone. I never can go back.
And all this sunshine here and in the sky—
A trillion, trillion blazing rays of warmth
Each second — and that second now has passed,
And all that power has left the universe.
The endpoint of the sun is closer now.
This sunny day then, so alive right now,
Is joining millions of past sunny days
In the black darkness of forgottenness.
The past is dead except in memories.
The steps since I began to take this walk
Could just as well have never taken place,
Except that I can still remember them.
But memories will decompose as well.
So many generations now have walked
Where I am walking, here on this sidewalk.
And could they just as well have never been?
That's why I sometimes hope that I won't die,
And that the world will end within my time.
I hate the prospect of forgottenness.
But then there's one thing I'm reminded of:
The memory of God remains perfect.
Creation, Cross, and the first cry at birth
Of every person ever in the world
Could just as well have taken place today.
To Him this quiet sidewalk's bustling with
Excited chattering and laughter of
Pedestrians who now are only dust.
The things we do eventually count
(Except the things the Sacrifice erased)
Although, for some, millennia now have passed.
the principles of time there will be changed,
And opportunities will never pass
Because the Source of day is infinite.
And take another step, and stop, and then
Go back one step, to the same place, but now
That place has gone. I never can go back.
And all this sunshine here and in the sky—
A trillion, trillion blazing rays of warmth
Each second — and that second now has passed,
And all that power has left the universe.
The endpoint of the sun is closer now.
This sunny day then, so alive right now,
Is joining millions of past sunny days
In the black darkness of forgottenness.
The past is dead except in memories.
The steps since I began to take this walk
Could just as well have never taken place,
Except that I can still remember them.
But memories will decompose as well.
So many generations now have walked
Where I am walking, here on this sidewalk.
And could they just as well have never been?
That's why I sometimes hope that I won't die,
And that the world will end within my time.
I hate the prospect of forgottenness.
But then there's one thing I'm reminded of:
The memory of God remains perfect.
Creation, Cross, and the first cry at birth
Of every person ever in the world
Could just as well have taken place today.
To Him this quiet sidewalk's bustling with
Excited chattering and laughter of
Pedestrians who now are only dust.
The things we do eventually count
(Except the things the Sacrifice erased)
Although, for some, millennia now have passed.
the principles of time there will be changed,
And opportunities will never pass
Because the Source of day is infinite.
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