The Paris Traveler

Time for another Theme Day here at the b5media Travel & Culture Channel and the theme is “Time”. For some reason I thought this was going to be smooth sailing! Afterall, there’s so many things that can be written about concerning Time, especially when we write about travel.

First I started writing about Paris being the center of the world; (Well at least in my eyes!) and how many hours it takes to get to Paris from New York, Tokyo, Mexico City, etc., but it was boring to say the least!

So-o-o, I decided I would write about the very first time I arrived in Paris in 1971. It was love at first sight with the city and a young French guy that I happened to meet about 20 minute later (!), but it became too long and too personal of a story for me to tell on a theme day topic!

My next attempt was Time Zone changes and changing from Daylight Savings Time back to Standard Time (in France this falls on October 28), but after saying that, what else?!

What to do, because apparently this was going nowhere fast?! Well I decided I would take out my frustrations by writing you a poem instead! What to call it? Why “Time” of course!!! 

TIME                                                                                                                                                                       
I am told that in reality,
Time does not exist.
Yet I’m a slave to it my whole life,
so when I hear that, I get pissed.

I get up, when my alarm goes off,
and punch in at work the same.
And if I want to come home for dinner,
I better not miss my train.

I watch my favorite shows
at a certain time on TV.
And I’m ready to go to bed,
when the clock chimes to me.
If Time does not exist,
then something is amiss!

Einstein said it was relative,
but I didn’t know his mom and dad.
Mine made me sit in a corner
for a long time,
when I was really bad.

If there is no Time,
then explain to me,
why I am getting older.
I would stay as I was at thirty,
I would grab that age and hold her!
 
And tell that to the officer,
ticketing me at the parking meter.
Or when I’m late paying bills,
and they shut off my water heater.

Now think about this,
if Time does not exist;
there would be no dates.
No past, no present, no future,
and then what about our fate?

Does this mean there are many of us,
running all over the place?
Living simultaneously -
I’m afraid that might be the case!

And what is this phenomena,
where Time moves slow or fast?
When I say goodbye to someone I love,
the hours just fly past.
They go by like seconds,
and I cannot make them last.

And then when I‘m stuck in traffic,
or the checkout line at the store,
minutes drag on like hours.
and I can’t take it anymore!

So if Time is an illusion,
and it really doesn’t exist.
Then I’ve come to the conclusion,
that we’re all just masochists!                                                                                                                                    
Lynn Rodriguez © 2007
All rights reserved. Lynn Rodriguez 2007

Photo Credits: Flickr

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