Have you ever gotten off track or felt derailed? Ever wandered from your original goal or intention? Ever felt frustrated by the time you seemed to waste on unclear priorities, or by how life’s circumstances can yank you off track or lull you into a completely different direction than you planned? Have you wasted even more time beating yourself up for this most common of human transgressions?

This poem focuses on embracing and making peace with time to live with more ease and joy.

The poem I wrote about my struggle with living in the moment and feeling trapped by time.

This morning, I woke up with the unsettling realization that I will never finish reading all the books on my Kindle, let alone revisit my old favorites on the shelves, which have survived seven moves—two of which were cross-country trips in either direction. Still, I cling to them and keep buying more.

Beneath my appreciation, time was causing me significant stress. I am always trying to control it somehow. Time is like a wild child, doing whatever it pleases, and I can’t stop it, tame it, or even hold onto it, as it keeps moving forward. I’ve viewed time as a dwindling, precious resource that seems to diminish more each day, each hour, and each moment that slips away.