It is September 15, 1997 and Jonathan is 17

In My World of Now
by Jonathan Kraft

All I want
is for things to stay
just the way they are…
Comfortable, peaceful, challenging, yet safe.

When I go out there,
outside of this foundation,
I will not have this same comfort,
this peace may not feel as peaceful.
The challenges will be there,
and perhaps they will be greater.
Will I feel safe?

Why can’t things just remain in this state?
The answer lies in the urn,
in which the figures are immortalized,
forever in an ideal state.

Yet Keats mocks them, that they will never know
the tender feel of the lover’s lips, or the crackling
of Autumn leaves under their feet.

I suppose he might mock me too,
in my desire for things to stay just as they are,
in my world of now.