Prequel

Living day to day
In the anticipation of a
Future bright
And unsullied
But
Right now
Your life is not a prequel –
Your time broken into
work-weeks
     timecards
          lunch breaks
               meetings
                    moments
Momentum
That you hope will carry you
Forward into
The Future…
Rather than just ending up weakened
Just in time for The Weekend.

But these moments are all you’ve got, baby.
This Is Your Life!
Stretch yourself out over your days and
Absorb the seconds tickticktick into your skin
Because hydration is key, they say,
And they say that the days, they’re long,
But the years are so short
And before long, just a furlong away,
You’ll discover that there’s no finish line –
The horizon just keeps on moving with you.

Hannah Mitchell has been writing poetry since she was old enough to scribble. A teacher of English, she earned her master’s degree at Piedmont College and has been in education for over fifteen years. In January 2020, she was proud to be chosen as one of the poets participating in the Tupelo Press 30/30 Project. Mitchell writes too-earnest songs and usually only publishes her work in anonymous ‘zines. A Southern Appalachian woman who has battled mental illness while earning her degrees, working full-time, and raising two wee wildflower daughters, she strives to write words that she, herself, needed to hear when she was struggling.