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Challenge Ended
When does the past end and the present begin?
Ended July 20, 2020 • 19 Entries • Created by _b
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When does the past end and the present begin?
Profile avatar image for dctezcan
dctezcan

Carpe diem II

the present becomes past

with every breath

you take;

you blink

and

a moment

is gone

whisked away

into the swirling

mists of before,

never to

be lived again

except in memory;

live there,

linger there

to dwell

on joy

or sorrow,

and the present -

the here

the now -

will pass you by,

as your focus

remains on

then;

the present lives

with every breath

you take;

the past ends

when you live

in the now

and not

in the “remember when”

or the

“I can’t wait until…”

the present lives

with every breath

you take,

and dies

with your last.

Challenge
When does the past end and the present begin?
Profile avatar image for PolarBear228
PolarBear228

The past ends,

When it begins,

The passed is, what it is

~~

The present is,

A gift,

It never ends,

In past tense

~~

And tomorrow, never is

It remains.. elusive

Challenge
When does the past end and the present begin?
Profile avatar image for Mazzmyrrheyes
Mazzmyrrheyes

Perpetual Kiss

endless

grains

of

shells

&

stones,

a trail

of

naked

feet.

sea

foam

washes

sandy

toes,

carves

rivers

underneath.

azure

eyes

&

endless

sea;

waves

walk

across

the

deep

to shoreline’s inch,

God’s fingerprints,

the past

&

present

meet.

Challenge
When does the past end and the present begin?
Profile avatar image for lakelaur
lakelaur

The Sun-Dial

The shadow by my finger cast

Divides the future from the past:

Before it, sleeps the unborn hour

In darkness, and beyond thy power:

Behind its unreturning line,

The vanished hour, no longer thine:

One hour alone is in thy hands,--

The NOW on which the shadow stands.

-Henry Van Dyke

————

Though this is not my poem, it is a memorized favorite. Being new to Prose, I hope it is not improper to share the work of other, inspiring artists.

Challenge
When does the past end and the present begin?
Profile avatar image for acaciatulane
acaciatulane

Real

The present sips his whiskey and throws down his cards. The past bitterly pushes her chips to the present, clenching her fist so hard that her nails dig into her palms. She’s an angry woman, and the present an unstoppable man. You see, the present doesn’t begin until you despise it. No one has to move from the past to be the present. The present isn’t a time concept, it’s a headspace. It’s sitting at dinner and eating your meal slowly, holding your wife’s hand while walking under the stars, popping pills with who you think will be with you forever. The present comes when you’re with the moment, when you chew your green beans and talk about your day over wine with your forever, finally taking notice of how chipped her red polish is, and swallowing your habits with your reckless friends. The presence is every day. The past is an illusion.

Challenge
When does the past end and the present begin?
Cover image for post In the Moment, by nightscribbler
Profile avatar image for nightscribbler
nightscribbler

In the Moment

The Past.

When does it begin?

When does it end?

It’s not quantifiable or measurable,

except by people’s memories and records of it,

both of which are fallible.

The past is often

misread,

misinterpreted,

misunderstood.

All too easily forgotten,

twisted, or edited out of existence.

Many of the greatest enigmas of history evolved from the errors,

innocent or not, of humanity’s

imperfections.

What is real,

what is

true?

What is the accurate representation of me and you?

What can we know of our past that will launch us into a better future?

The answering potentialities come in a dizzying myriad of forms and possibilities.

Some viable, some not, all come up against a limitation or flaw evoking the response,

what

now

?

*

*

*

**

****

******

The Present.

Life in the moment.

All we truly have is the present.

The present is always here, always now.

It is knowable, tangible, able to be experienced.

When it begins, when it ends, that still is a mystery.

But this present moment is the place where we are fully alive,

when the entire essence of our being is moving, changing, transforming.

If life is truly that--alive--it is in that split second of vibration,

that brief moment suspended between past and future,

the encapsulation of a single vital breath.

This is the place in which we see

the knowledge of the before

and power of the after

gathered to its

highest

apex.

**

*

*

*

This shortest of intervals is where we find and establish our identities,

where there is no limit to what we can inspire and accomplish

as individuals, communities, nations, religions, cultures.

This is the space of sheer belief, miracles, creation.

This is the place in which dreams actualize.

This is the only time we have.

This present moment.

It is now.

**

*

Challenge
When does the past end and the present begin?
Profile avatar image for Mara_C
Mara_C

The Past, The Present.

The Past Ends When The Present Begins,

when we've moved on from something,

as if it were a second-hand object,

discarding thought

and opinions

about it

away,

as if it were nothing

but a bag of garbage.

The Present begins

as it awaited its turn,

a new leaf,

or plantling

that awaited thought

and opinions,

which will finally come

and rain above

as if it were there all along,

as if the Past hadn't been discarded,

as if the Past hadn't even occured.

But little do we know

that

the Past and the Present

are one alike,

that they are same,

as the Present will,

too,

be discarded

and forgotten,

no longer with thoughts

and opinions

about it,

and it will become the Past too.

Just a memory,

or a moment

that had happened

and cannot be changed.

20.6.2020

Challenge
When does the past end and the present begin?
Profile avatar image for YasmineMnassri
YasmineMnassri

Time

The past doesn't end but gets longer.

It's the manifestation of the statement saying that the time never stops, the past is like the fire that never stops eating the plants when it is launched. Like that, the past eats the present. Every moment you are having now is the present. But every second from that moment is part of the past, as soon as it is passed. Just in a blink of an eye.

The past and present are two sides of one coin, and that coin is in harmony to make the future shorter and shorter and to make us explain that time moves and never waits.

The present is the bridge between the past and future.

Challenge
When does the past end and the present begin?
Profile avatar image for MidnightInk
MidnightInk

Never

The answer is never!

Time is all about perspectives. Some believe that there is no past, present or future if you fold time, because you’re always content to remain at the same place you've started from.

In other words, nothing changes from the last time you blinked to the moment you start thinking that something has changed because what you see is the same even unfolding in a circular ever ending loop.

midnightink 6-20-20

Challenge
When does the past end and the present begin?
Profile avatar image for RobinEgg
RobinEgg

Where

Where does the sky stop and the sea start?

dark and light blues blending, bending light, dark

Where does fact separate from the heart?

tell the truth you want, what you wish truly not

Where do the trees move apart from the wind?

See-through gusts pushing visible branches wild

Where does the past end and the present begin?

right now, right now , right now

in the blue, in the heart,

in the light, in the dark,

in the leaves, in the trees,

in the moment

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