the cartographer's fever

now that we've established the longitude

& latitude of the earth let's now make a map

of time     go to the black board & draw 

a straight-line     label the left portion

                        past

then label the middle part of the line

                       present

then take your pointer finger to the far right

stop at the end & label that part 

                     future

your dreams are of the future

your days are made of the present

your regrets are woven of the past

take a good look at that line

so simple in its fashion

you seem to live at every part of the line at once

but when you get a real good look

ask yourself     right now 

which part do you live in 

which part do you want to live in

& why does the past & future always

seem to become     the present

like a prison          like a heaven