I was regretting the past

However dark it be;

And fearing the future.

Suddenly my lord was speaking;

‘My name is I am.’ He paused.

I waited. He continued’

‘When you live in the past,

with its mistakes and regrets,

it is hard.

I am not there.

My name is not ‘I was’.

When you live in the future, with its problems and fears,

it is hard. I am not there.

My name is not ‘I will be.’

When you live in this moment

it is not hard. I am here.

My name is ‘I am.’

Helen Mallicoat (1913-2004).