What struck me is the way the poem turns time from a backdrop into the main character. At a certain point it no longer feels like it’s about childhood or children, but about the moment we realize the tomorrow we were waiting for has already become yesterday.
I like how is how time is portrayed not as a thief, but as an indifferent force. The child digging in the sand believes the future is endless, while the older self realizes the future arrived quietly years ago. A meditation on parenthood, memory, and the illusion that we have more time than we do. lovely 😊
We are all really so small in time and infinity. This poem made me feel that. We are here and we matter but there's soooooo much that surrounds us. Great post.
What struck me most about this poem is how quietly it captures the shock of realizing time has moved faster than we ever noticed. The shift from a boy digging in Waikiki to a parent watching his children rush into adulthood feels painfully real. There’s a soft ache in that realization, the kind that settles in the chest long after the moment passes. The ghosts of former selves gathering behind him hit especially hard — we all carry versions of who we were, blurred and half‑forgotten. I love how the poem widens from memory into something almost cosmic, as if time were a force we only recognize once it’s already slipped past. And yet the tone stays gentle, almost resigned. The ending lingers the longest: when we’re young, tomorrow feels endless. Then one day we look back and understand that yesterday is the only place that stayed still.
This one got me. My older one is graduating college next week and much reflection has been about the speed of time. And really time has is and always be the true commodity!
Perhaps one of life’s greatest illusions is believing we always have more time. Thank you for this beautiful reminder that life was never waiting somewhere ahead of us …it was always there, with our feet in the water. 🤍
I will need to circle back many times before i can honor this properly. So I will say this....i felt something of a very fine thread that runs between the written words......and the way they landed in me.....the imagery of a child playing on a beach, sensing something weighty he didn't begin and perhaps didn't know he would be asked to carry.... and then that gossamer thread of someone who recognizes a shared something that perhaps has no name we can give it.
thank you......i have a feeling it is going to become more clear fairly soon as i stirred up the hornet's nest a bit over the last month and particularly today....same for you
What struck me is the way the poem turns time from a backdrop into the main character. At a certain point it no longer feels like it’s about childhood or children, but about the moment we realize the tomorrow we were waiting for has already become yesterday.
Thank you Antonio
"When there was a tomorrow. Yesterday."
Goosebumps.
Thank you James
I like how is how time is portrayed not as a thief, but as an indifferent force. The child digging in the sand believes the future is endless, while the older self realizes the future arrived quietly years ago. A meditation on parenthood, memory, and the illusion that we have more time than we do. lovely 😊
Thank you!
We are all really so small in time and infinity. This poem made me feel that. We are here and we matter but there's soooooo much that surrounds us. Great post.
Thank you Parker!
What struck me most about this poem is how quietly it captures the shock of realizing time has moved faster than we ever noticed. The shift from a boy digging in Waikiki to a parent watching his children rush into adulthood feels painfully real. There’s a soft ache in that realization, the kind that settles in the chest long after the moment passes. The ghosts of former selves gathering behind him hit especially hard — we all carry versions of who we were, blurred and half‑forgotten. I love how the poem widens from memory into something almost cosmic, as if time were a force we only recognize once it’s already slipped past. And yet the tone stays gentle, almost resigned. The ending lingers the longest: when we’re young, tomorrow feels endless. Then one day we look back and understand that yesterday is the only place that stayed still.
Thank you APC
This one got me. My older one is graduating college next week and much reflection has been about the speed of time. And really time has is and always be the true commodity!
All the more reason why attention is such a powerful currency nowadays: you're investing your time. Thank you Cynthia!
Very true! Always good to read your work:)
🙏🏻
Perhaps one of life’s greatest illusions is believing we always have more time. Thank you for this beautiful reminder that life was never waiting somewhere ahead of us …it was always there, with our feet in the water. 🤍
Thank you
I love you captured empty nest
Thank you for reading!
You make it easy
I will need to circle back many times before i can honor this properly. So I will say this....i felt something of a very fine thread that runs between the written words......and the way they landed in me.....the imagery of a child playing on a beach, sensing something weighty he didn't begin and perhaps didn't know he would be asked to carry.... and then that gossamer thread of someone who recognizes a shared something that perhaps has no name we can give it.
I'm intrigued to hear what you've discerned, once it becomes clear
thank you......i have a feeling it is going to become more clear fairly soon as i stirred up the hornet's nest a bit over the last month and particularly today....same for you
We’re all born rich. We think our currency is endless. We have no idea how valuable it is when we’re young. Another brilliant piece of writing!
Thank you Christopher
Wow. This has made the hairs stand up on my arms. What a beautiful, powerful poem. I am 58 and this poem resonates so much. Thank you 🙏
Thank you Tony. 52 here, do we're chewing dome of the same dirt. Appreciate you feeling the intention here.
Definitely 😁
Beautiful! 🥰
Thank you
“You cannot step into the same river twice." 🪷
Thank you!
The opening line 'Yesterday I was small' immediately captures a sense of quiet introspection.
Thank you Gabriel
"A cage we each carry with us
Never conscious of the punishment it wreaks
Or the doom cast by its hands"
What a statement. ❤️
Beautiful poem. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for reading!
Such a powerful 👏 piece
Thank you Lawrence