"Old Man with Hourglass" by Antonio Cifrondi‘Funny How a Day Can Go So Slow’ by David D. Irby The Society August 25, 2021 Beauty, Culture, Poetry, Rondel 18 Comments . a rondel It’s funny how a day can go so slow, and yet a year just simply seems to fly. We blink, and then another one goes by. Those winds of change don’t ever cease to blow. Time’s raging river has an undertow. So quickly does our hourglass run dry. It’s funny how a day can go so slow, and yet a year just simply seems to fly. I check my watch. Where do the minutes go? They travel in the blinking of an eye. Too soon, the time to leave this life draws nigh. Though years fly by with such a manic flow, it’s funny how a day can go so slow. . . Dave D. Irby is a retired law enforcement officer and a U.S. Air Force veteran, currently living in Halifax, VA. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Trending now: 18 Responses Michael Dashiell August 25, 2021 You show time is tricky. For instance, today, this Wednesday, it seems is everyday. I’ve also noticed that when I write and concentrate, time seems to vanish or lose its presence. How about you, Dave? Reply DAVID D IRBY August 25, 2021 I find that time flies as well when I’m in a writing groove. Reply C.B. Anderson August 26, 2021 Which is to say, David, that it often takes a long time to write a good poem. Yours is a tight little gem that brings home a point that most of us have noticed, but few have articulated well. I think the years fly because each new year is a smaller proportion of the total of years. Why minutes drag is harder to understand, but there are three things especially that cause them to do so: pain, boredom & waiting for something. Peter Hartley August 25, 2021 It is true that time flies when you are having a good time and it drags when you are doing time in gaol. I balked at first at the repeated use of “slow” as an adverb in the refrain, but then time flew by at a rate of knots as I ruminated over the fact that we don’t say “fastly” (although Shakespeare did, but he meant something else). A pleasant little rondel, it is a sharp reminder of man’s mortality. Reply Norma Okun August 25, 2021 David, I really enjoyed your sense of time. We cannot wait to grow old and when we are we wished we were young. Time is funny, it can heal, it can make you wait for the things you might just never get. Reply Paul Freeman August 25, 2021 A melancholy topic (if you’re at the blunt end of the time scale), wonderfully well written. As Einstein put it: “When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, you think it’s only a minute, but when you sit on a hot stove for a minute, you think it’s two hours. That’s relativity.” Thanks for the reads, David. Reply Paul Freeman August 25, 2021 Of course I’m saying ‘reads’ because I’ve read the poem twice. Reply David Paul Behrens August 25, 2021 Does time really exist or is it merely a concept invented by humans? This subject is so deep, I don’t have time to delve into it right now! I like this poem, and I know what you are talking about. Reply C.B. Anderson August 27, 2021 No one really knows the answer to that. The nature of time is still an open philosophical question, though my alarm clock might disagree. Reply 綠山從 From Green Mountain August 25, 2021 holy moly Reply Jeff Eardley August 25, 2021 David, my father always used to say “If I knew that I would get this old, I would have looked after myself better” which always puzzled me. This is a lovely poem on one of the great dilemmas of all time. English folk singer, Sandy Denny, summed it up with her great song, “Who knows where the time goes.” which is worth searching for….if you have the time. Thank you for a good read. Reply Cynthia Erlandson August 25, 2021 Time is one of my favorite topics, and I think your rondel is lovely. Reply Allegra Silberstein August 26, 2021 Your poem speaks to me eloquently. Reply Yael August 26, 2021 Great poem, I love it. Especially the line “Time’s raging river has an undertow”, that’s a gem, thank you, I can really relate to this. Reply Cheryl Corey August 27, 2021 I especially love the first two stanzas. So true … so philosophical. Reply Patricia Redfern August 27, 2021 An outstanding rondel on a universal topic, David! Reply Martin Rizley August 28, 2021 Sobering, thoughtful, and very well crafted. This poem well illustrates how an idea can be powerfully conveyed through simplicity of expression, an economy of words and repetition. Reply Patricia Redfern September 2, 2021 David, I enjoyed your thinking and verses, So much so, passed it on to friends, famikt and others Peter’s! Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Michael Dashiell August 25, 2021 You show time is tricky. For instance, today, this Wednesday, it seems is everyday. I’ve also noticed that when I write and concentrate, time seems to vanish or lose its presence. How about you, Dave? Reply
C.B. Anderson August 26, 2021 Which is to say, David, that it often takes a long time to write a good poem. Yours is a tight little gem that brings home a point that most of us have noticed, but few have articulated well. I think the years fly because each new year is a smaller proportion of the total of years. Why minutes drag is harder to understand, but there are three things especially that cause them to do so: pain, boredom & waiting for something.
Peter Hartley August 25, 2021 It is true that time flies when you are having a good time and it drags when you are doing time in gaol. I balked at first at the repeated use of “slow” as an adverb in the refrain, but then time flew by at a rate of knots as I ruminated over the fact that we don’t say “fastly” (although Shakespeare did, but he meant something else). A pleasant little rondel, it is a sharp reminder of man’s mortality. Reply
Norma Okun August 25, 2021 David, I really enjoyed your sense of time. We cannot wait to grow old and when we are we wished we were young. Time is funny, it can heal, it can make you wait for the things you might just never get. Reply
Paul Freeman August 25, 2021 A melancholy topic (if you’re at the blunt end of the time scale), wonderfully well written. As Einstein put it: “When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, you think it’s only a minute, but when you sit on a hot stove for a minute, you think it’s two hours. That’s relativity.” Thanks for the reads, David. Reply
David Paul Behrens August 25, 2021 Does time really exist or is it merely a concept invented by humans? This subject is so deep, I don’t have time to delve into it right now! I like this poem, and I know what you are talking about. Reply
C.B. Anderson August 27, 2021 No one really knows the answer to that. The nature of time is still an open philosophical question, though my alarm clock might disagree. Reply
Jeff Eardley August 25, 2021 David, my father always used to say “If I knew that I would get this old, I would have looked after myself better” which always puzzled me. This is a lovely poem on one of the great dilemmas of all time. English folk singer, Sandy Denny, summed it up with her great song, “Who knows where the time goes.” which is worth searching for….if you have the time. Thank you for a good read. Reply
Cynthia Erlandson August 25, 2021 Time is one of my favorite topics, and I think your rondel is lovely. Reply
Yael August 26, 2021 Great poem, I love it. Especially the line “Time’s raging river has an undertow”, that’s a gem, thank you, I can really relate to this. Reply
Cheryl Corey August 27, 2021 I especially love the first two stanzas. So true … so philosophical. Reply
Martin Rizley August 28, 2021 Sobering, thoughtful, and very well crafted. This poem well illustrates how an idea can be powerfully conveyed through simplicity of expression, an economy of words and repetition. Reply
Patricia Redfern September 2, 2021 David, I enjoyed your thinking and verses, So much so, passed it on to friends, famikt and others Peter’s! Reply
