by David Neil Bain

Created on: June 08, 2008

If you were the past,
You would not know who I've become today.
If she is the present,
Her future's just a cutting edge away.
If I were the future,
You'd never know my name from day to day.

A nanosecond from now
The light from your close face will come to mine.
A millisecond from now
My brain will fire a cell and change my mind.
A second from now
That lie will cross my tongue yet one more time, but

If I were a light source,
I could not say which photons reach your eyes.
If I were a brain cell,
I'd know not if the thought I spawned was wise.
If I were my own tongue,
I could not know which secrets turn to lies.

If I were a poet,
I would not know this poem till it's done.
If I were a lover,
I would not know if my true love's the one.
If I were a winner,
I would not know for sure till I had won.

A day from now
The sun will cross the sky a certain way.
A month from now
My child will age a month beyond today.
A year from now
My dying will be one less year away, yet

If I were the sun,
I would not know which atoms burn away.
If I were a child,
I would not know which words I'd learn to say.
If I were to die,
I would not know my path along the way.

If I were a just god,
I would not know which souls I'd send to Hell.
If I were a demon,
I would not know the lies I'd plan to tell.
If I were an angel,
I would not know what virtues I would sell.

A century from now
My land may sink away beneath the sea.
A million years from now
Robots may be more advanced than me.
A nameless time from now
The last star dead will have no one to see, and even so

If I were the land
I would not know but I might rise somehow.
If I were a robot
I would not know what changes I'd allow.
If I were that dead star
I would not know eternity starts now.

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