Poetic "Tomorrow"!

Not long ago when I read the book "Proof of Heaven" by Dr. Eben Alexander, I was particularly moved by a poem he included in his narration entitled "When Tomorrow Starts Without Me" which he indicated was written by David  M. Romano in 1993. I just found the poem online here and I'm copying it here:

When tomorrow starts without me, and I'm not there to see;

If the sun should rise and find your eyes all filled with tears for me;

I wish so much you wouldn't cry the way you did today,

while thinking of the many things we didn't get to say.

I know how much you love me, as much as I love you,

and each time you think of me I know you'll miss me too;

But when tomorrow starts without me, please try to understand,

that an angel came and called my name and took me by the hand,

and said my place was ready in heaven far above,

and that I'd have to leave behind all those I dearly love.

But as I turned to walk away, a tear fell from my eye,

for all life, I'd always thought I didn't want to die.

I had so much to live for and so much yet to do,

it seemed almost impossible that I was leaving you.

I thought of all the yesterdays, the good ones and the bad,

I thought of all the love we shared and all the fun we had.

If I could relive yesterday, I thought, just for awhile,

I'd say goodbye and kiss you and maybe see you smile.

But then I fully realized that this could never be,

for emptiness and memories would take the place of me.

And when I thought of worldly things that I'd miss come tomorrow,

I thought of you, and when I did, my heart was filled with sorrow.

But when I walked through heaven's gates, I felt so much at home.

When God looked down and smiled at me, from His great golden throne,

He said, "This is eternity and all I've promised you".

Today for life on earth is past but here it starts anew.

I promise no tomorrow, but today will always last,

and since each day's the same day, there's no longing for the past.

But you have been so faithful, so trusting, and so true.

Though there were times you did some things you knew you shouldn't do.

But you have been forgiven and now at last you’re free.

So won't you take my hand and share my life with me?

So when tomorrow starts without me, don't think we're far apart,

for every time you think of me, I'm right here in your heart.

by: David M. Romano Daddy4sons@aol.com

Copyright © David M Romano December 1993

Obviously speculating about tomorrow is a nice poetic theme, here's another one: Garth Brooks' song lyrics called "If Tomorrow Never Comes":

Sometimes late at night

I lie awake and watch her sleeping

She's lost in peaceful dreams

So I turn out the lights and lay there in the dark

And the thought crosses my mind

If I never wake up in the morning

Would she ever doubt the way I feel

About her in my heart

*chorus*

If tomorrow never comes

Will she know how much I loved her

Did I try in every way to show her every day

That she's my only one

if my time on earth were through

She must face this world without me

Is the love I gave her in the past

Gonna be enough to last

If tomorrow never comes

'Cause I've lost loved ones in my life

Who never knew how much I loved them

Now I live with the regret

That my true feelings for them never were revealed

So I made a promise to myself

To say each day how much she means to me

And avoid that circumstance

Where there's no second chance to tell her how I feel

*chorus*

So tell that someone that you love

Just what you're thinking of

If tomorrow never comes

Now I just discovered a over 20 years old popular song from Taiwan called 

"如果還有明天" ("If there's still tomorrow!")  Here's the lyrics in Chinese:

我們都有看不開的時候　總有冷落自己的舉動

但是我一定會提醒自己　如果還有明天

我們都有傷心的時候　總不在乎這種感受

但是我要把握每次感動　如果還有明天

＊如果還有明天　你想怎樣裝扮你的臉

　如果沒有明天　要怎麼說再見

如果你看出我的遲疑　是不是你也想要問我

究竟有多少事還沒做　如果還有明天

如果真的還能夠有明天　是否能把事情都做完

是否一切也將雲消煙散　如果沒有明天

(Song writer:  劉偉仁  Singer：薛岳)

I guess one can sense the difference in cultures, the Taiwan song seems more about philosophy of life than love. The Taiwan rock singer unfortunately died of liver cancer in 1990. At least thanks to the internet, a generation or two since his passing, his song is still around. Not as his lyric questioned if it might disappears and dispersed like smokes and clouds!  (雲消煙散).

Well, as a procrastinator, I always tend to say "There's always tomorrow!" Can we really seriously think about it "What if there really isn't a tomorrow anymore?" We thanks God every day when we wake up in the morning. There's really going to happen one day, there's no more tomorrow for me, even though tomorrow continues in existence for others and the rest of the world for years and years to come!  We have no way of knowing when "that" day will come, even though it is absolutely it will come! If it does not come we can not rush it, if it does come one day, we can not prevent it. At any rate, as long as we are breathing today, we thank the Good Lord for keeping us here and now. We'll do our best to honor Him and Obeying His will as much as we can. It's not tomorrow never comes, there's always tomorrow, tomorrow always comes! It should be more accurately to ask whether or not or when tomorrow will stop coming for us personally and  individually. For that we can only say it to the Almighty at the end of comings of tomorrow: "I am in Your hands!" or even "Into Thy hand I commit my spirit!"