Fully Present In the Past
by Michael Doyle

Rage bait and other angry fills
Have long ceased being thrills.
No one has asked for my tainted advice,
But I think it's long past time to offer mine.

Let's not be rattled by our every whim.
Instead, let's look through the eyes of a child,
And speak as if we are speaking only to him,
Keeping smooth and calm instead of being riled.

Let's become fully present and fully feeling
About what the person is thinking instead of reeling.
That is the chaos of that person's present life.
In doing this, we find more peace and less strife.

It's something that we all need to know, 
And it is best approached through authority, not show.
Looking at an unexpected profile takes courage.
It's these moments of bravery we should not discourage.

Sometimes goodness takes a lot of inner strength.
It's what gets us through a bad day's length.
Sometimes we can't help getting caught up in anger.
It's that look of love that removes the danger.

Sometimes life's struggles can be a fumble.
Despite our best efforts, we take our tumble.
The good and the bad are often what we do with it,
And no matter how hard we try, there are things we can't prevent.

It's like trying to  right an angle meant to be bent,
Or perhaps hold on to currency that is already spent.
There are things that are near impossible to improve, 
Even Atlas shrugged at a rock that he couldn't move.

There's a lot of truth to our maturity,
And no getting around it, if we will do it honestly.
We learn this from the roles in which we're cast
This and that, there is no escaping the past. 

(c) November 17, 2025   Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved