A Single Day.

A SINGLE DAY

If I had but a single day,
Where would I go? What would I say?
How would I choose my time to spend?
What would I do before day’s end.
If I only had one day?

If I had but a single day,
Would I relive some yesterday?
Would I recall all my regrets,
The jobs undone, the useless frets,
If I only had one day?

If I had but a single day,
Would fear of some tomorrow play
Upon my mind and steal from me
The present opportunity,
If I only had one day?

If I had but a single day,
Would labor claim my night and day?
Would every waking moment be
Consumed to grasp prosperity,
If I only had one day?

If I had but a single day,
Would I sit back from all the fray
And wait for someone else to take
Initiative to make it great,
If I only had one day?

If I had but a single day,
Would I find time to kneel and pray?
Would kindness, love, and charity
Toward others take priority,
If I only had one day.

Indeed, I have a single day.
I can’t recover yesterday.
Tomorrow is beyond my grasp.
I can’t control future or past.
For I only have this day.

Copyright 1998 Michael Fink, All rights reserved.

My Uncle wrote the poem above. I was going to preface the words I wrote below with thoughts, verses, and situations that have led to these words, but I’ll leave those out for now. Below is a ‘response’ of sorts to my Uncle’s poem.

I ONLY HAVE ONE DAY

“You only have one day,” he said.
But that can’t be true, there’s projects due!
Who’s going to finish the work to be done?
Send the projects I’ve just begun?

Surely not just one day.
There’s so many things I have to do!
I need more to time to hug and play,
To say the things I meant to say,
To spend quality time with my wife,
To tell my daughters what matters in life,
To put work down and play with blocks,
To scratch her back and go on walks,
To look them in the eye and smile,
To hold my wife for just awhile,
To talk and to teach,
To instruct and preach,
To sit and do nothing,
To be at peace.

I really only have one day?
Where’s my life? Did I waste it away?
Just hold on! In a minute!
There’s not enough time to even finish!
This job is due! I’ve got to get this done!
There’s not enough time under the sun!
I love you. I do. I’ll be home soon.
I just can’t leave yet, this is due at noon.
I can’t take off, I’ve got to do it all.
I’ll call you back, I’m getting a call.

Labor does claim my night and my day.
There is no time to kneel and pray.
But every waking moment’s spent,
Doing my best, giving 100%.

But to know I have but a single day…
I haven’t looked at things this way.
The best I gave doesn’t matter,
The 100% for work left 0% after.

The things I need to do, this single day,
I could have done yesterday,
And the day before, and the day before,
Then I could have enjoyed this day a bit more.
Knowing I spent my time in my life,
On things that mattered, my children, my wife.
I loved and I reached the lost and the broken,
I rested in Christ and His Good News was spoken.

So what do I do, knowing this truth –
Tomorrow is beyond my grasp,
And I can’t control future or past?
The answer seems simple, when said this way:
For I only have this day.