Carpe vitam

Come, fill the Cup, and in the Fire of Spring
The Winter Garment of Repentance fling:
     The Bird of Time has but a little way
To fly - and Lo! the Bird is on the Wing.

Whether or not Edward FitzGerald's translation is faithful to Omar Khayyam's original quatrain, this one has always been my favorite. I first read it in high school, and it's still the one that speaks to me the most whenever I re-read stanzas. Maybe it's just part of my obsession with Time and clocks and Prufrock and "Acquainted With the Night". But this verse has always conveyed going beyond a mere "Carpe diem!" to me.

As I'm starting new rounds of treatment, seizing one day at a time seems like the obvious solution to seemingly insurmountable challenges. But taking a step back, 2012 has been completely amazing so far because I've consciously staked out territory for my own. Week Seven was a horrible, time-warped glitch. But I can fight back and reclaim the rest of the year.