When the Little Things Become Small

When the Little Things Become Small

Peter T. Atkinson

(written 9/11/14 -- 13 years later)

“Don’t sweat the small stuff,”

So they say, but small is relative,

For small is just less big, or little,

So how do you ever know, until you do?

And when you do, when there is no question:

That little thing, right there, that is small. I get it,

Now. Now, what changed? — Everything.

For now  your eyes are open; you can see

All at once, and compare, and prioritize,

And make clear decisions about life—the ones

You used to just float through in the wave,

The pulling tide of routine, the speed,

And busyness, where everything is big

And intense and consuming and looming

Awash in the mess of life, in the midst

Of life, missing life. What happens

To make the little things become small?

What causes the shift—that perspective

Giving shift—of distance, and space,

And separation from self? On days

Like these the small looms too large for us

To remember days like those all to our peril.