Carrie Newcomer I Meant To Do My Work Today
I meant to do my work today,
So many plans I had made.
I'd check the mail, I'd make the calls
Save the world and sweep the hall,
Finally get my accounting done,
Sort the beans one by one,
But I got waylaid by the morning sun.
And I got absolutely nothing done.
I thought I'd live a louder life.
I'd learn a lot and get it right.
I'd rent a loft I'd drink all night,
I'd be a living archetype,
And in a blinding flash of light,
I'd see that one great insight,
But silence called me deeper still.
Like nothing else ever will.
I woke to hear an owl nearby,
Hunting something large enough to cry.
Nature's always beautiful,
The change of season always right,
The moon shines cold and true and bright,
And sets at dawn without a fight,
And yet I could not find a way,
To get myself back to sleep last night.
I never knew just what it meant
The way you smiled while you dreamt.
And why my heart can overflow,
And why mistakes can haunt me so,
Why nothing ever stops or stays,
Dust shimmers in the morning rays,
I didn't do the work that I'd had said.
I just wandered through these thoughts instead.
