Mark Scandrette

How long can we keep on running around
Spending time like paper dollars in a monopoly game?
I used to think that I could do it all,
when my ambitions were small,
and I wasn’t so strong.

In my mind, and with your words, we can create worlds
that come into being through the work of our hands
and the shear power of will.

Our dreams, they are bound, by the limits of time.
There are things that I do only for today,
eating, praying, exercise
Other things are done for next week or next month
appointments, planning, reservations for camping

But I wonder about the paths I might open for future generations
through the choices I make
Land bought for my grand-children
words written on a page that may only be understood by strangers in a future decade
I chafe at the reality that we are time bound– the pressure to make our lives count
when we don’t know which of the ways we spend our days will matter
in two years, twenty or two hundred.
In history, a whole life collapses into two or three events or artifacts
and the lives of entire peoples are reduced to the caricatures of a few great men.

We have such a small window into each other’s lives
Act with the future in mind
What can we leave behind to guide those who go on
after we have passed away?