April 13, 2020

Worthwhile

What is the worth of my while?
Will I spend my while meanly?
Could it be said, "And it came
to pass that all the while she spent
in meanness" – that is, in averages
and half measures? That hardly
seems worth the while. If I am
going to while away the time,
shouldn't I do it wholly, so that
it cannot be said, "Meanwhile,
her children grew up, and her
husband grew old, and she knew
them not"? I do not wish to
merely pass the time, not while
there are whole worlds worth
knowing under my own roof,
entire stretches of time, just beyond
my front porch, for stretching both
time and our limbs, for holding hands
and walking across the pasture to
check the apple trees together, or
stopping to hold our breath at the
pond at dusk, listening while the
frogs croak. Do I really wish to
miss this? I do not. But will I?
Will I pass before learning
my while is beyond price?