{"id":381,"date":"2026-02-04T20:04:54","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T20:04:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/?p=381"},"modified":"2026-02-04T20:04:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T20:04:54","slug":"short","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/?p=381","title":{"rendered":"Short"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
We know it but we don't
Life is too short too brutal

So often life comes with the unexpected
of our plot veering into hairpin turns 
that wrench us from daily doldrums
with a phone call that cuts through chores.

And in a scramble, loved ones gather
in a strange emergency department
exchange glances, file into a private room 
where there is a well-meaning physician
Please, take a seat<\/em>
who explains that they did their best
and that it was not enough
and that they're sorry
and here's the card for a social worker
and would you like to see the body.

And like that, You are no longer You.
The Body.

We know it but we don't
Tomorrow is not promised

Those who delay what matters
risk trudging through a life on hold
that fails to imprint their sacred force
into the damp clay of this planet's progress
and prevent an influence on the fossil record of Being.

We know it but we don't
We need to prioritize what matters now.

Rip off the shrink wrap that confines to paralysis
the limited edition box that is You

Book the trip to the Dolomites
earn the blisters and tales and snapshots

Pop the cork on that vintage brut, 
ever-earmarked and growing dusty
for an unknown big day, more worthy day
that may never arrive until you make it so

We know it but we don't
Tomorrow is a concept; only now is real

At every chance extract the marrow of Opportunity 
from the shattered bones of Doubt
until our faces shine, slick with proof
of a life lived fully in every waking moment.

We know it but we don't
Live in the Moment

Don\u2019t wait for a bitter reminder
of how fragile and precarious our existences are
Make meaning in the mundane
Forge impact, from infinitesimal to international

Drive ripples through this world
Be felt and held and buoyed by this place.

Plunge into living our Maybe
our Someday our Next Year, Today.

Because we know it, but we don't
that our lives end 
abruptly \u2014 
<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cShort,\u201d written February 4, poem 035 in a series of 365 poems written by Diana Ludwick in 2026. Photo by Diana Ludwick (c) 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,2],"tags":[34,57,63,66,67,64,65],"class_list":["post-381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2026-poetry-challenge","category-poems","tag-death","tag-february","tag-life","tag-meaning","tag-opportunity","tag-purpose","tag-risk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=381"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":387,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/381\/revisions\/387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/386"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=381"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=381"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dianaludwick.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=381"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}