it only took a few words 
moments to transform 
from a thought 
into a virus 
that grew steadily 
by the day 
into an imagined predicament

it only took a cool head 
and appropriate action 
to dispel the delusion 
withering those thoughts 
back down
to a few words 
that held no sway

my alarm went off
way too early this morning
and I lost all sense of time

breakfast and coffee 
were over before I knew it

the morning was scrubbed clean 
and the next thing I knew 
the clock struck noon

traffic and distraction 
took up the mid-afternoon

the early evening consumed 
just as fast
as the meal we ate for dinner

dusk was in the dust 
by just after eight

I feel I'm just now 
catching up
and I'll savor the hour and a half 
that I have left

in our unremitting rush
to be somewhere
other than where we are,
it looked like everyone
had the same idea
to take the road less travelled

we forget that oftentimes
it leads us right back
to where we are,
the inescapable present,
the place we should not
rush away from