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# Short
- URL: https://dianaludwick.com/short/
- Published: 2026-02-04T20:04:54.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T20:12:07.000Z
- Description: “Short,” written February 4, poem 035 in a series of 365 poems written by Diana Ludwick in 2026. Photo by Diana Ludwick (c) 2026.
- Author: Diana Ludwick
- Tags: 2026 Poetry Challenge, Poems, death, February, Life, Meaning, Opportunity, Purpose, Risk, #Migrated-1792872215677, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-10-24 20:03

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*  
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’t 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 —