Not Enough Time Poem by Deanna Samuels

How many times have we spoken those words
Rushing and bustling, doing our daily chores
Such important matters we consider so keen
Thinking back, wondered where we have been

Running for trains, planes and busses too
Why do we leave so little time to do
What is so urgent that we leave it so late
Then when arrived are in a breathless state

Not enough time to reflect on the past
Of times we enjoyed, to savour, the day goes so fast
To remember the moments of those loved ones gone by
And the time that they gave without question or cry

Have we time to lend an ear, a desperate plea for help
A few minutes spared to listen up, given without real heart
Is our time so precious that we cannot pause to stop
To heed our troubled children, too shy to spill their worried plot

Not enough time to consider those in real need
To go out of our way to do a good deed
Time to think of the children in lands far away
Mistreated, malnourished, thousands dying each day

Too little time taken to understand why there are conflicts and wars
They happen elsewhere and thankfully not at our doors
Glancing at devastation from natural disasters we see on our screens
A few dollars donation keeps our conscience clear from the screams

When is the time taken to dig deeply and more fully
Into the years of unhappiness under the power of a bully
Do we take time to be aware of widespread human trafficking
More rife than at any time; slavery, child soldiers, prostitution

Not enough time spent to study tiers of political doctrine
Handing without question too much power to those who govern
No time to acknowledge that wild life being decimated, becoming extinct
And countless domestic animals used, abused, euthanized in a wink

Do we give time to think of Earth's finite precious gifts that abound
Gorging them relentlessly; rainforests hewn, nature unsound
How long can we survive in the annals of time
When our time is used up in a charred airless land

It is now that we must find the time to preserve
The time for us all, the time we deserve
Stop a while, stop; plan what can readily be left out
Not enough time will ease; find again what life is about

(Penned at Richmond Hill, Ontario - 13th November 2013)