Past/Future

Nicole Long

Careful, now, the past is accruing
More than the future,
A slingshot being stretched back
To its limit,
To the point of elastic shock,
And what will happen when
It reaches critical mass?
You old ones, what’s it like?
Monumental pasts, a future of inches
And specks and motes?
Let’s say it’s like mercury
Rising into the zone of fever,
Nothing normal there,
And the other way is cold, cold.
Got to maintain equilibrium
In your mind, that’s all,
In your mind . . .
Because that’s the only place
It exists and has ever existed
And will ever exist—
Even if it’s no longer your mind.