i only saw
the ramones live
once in person
and it ended up
being their final tour
didn’t know it then
it was just a show

i only saw
the grateful dead live
once in person
and it ended up
being jerry’s last performance
didn’t know it then
it was just a show

i only met
maya angelou
once in person
on an art train
when i was in grade school
didn’t think much of it then
it was just a school trip

i only did
a lot of things
once in person
and didn’t quite see
the type of indelible
mark it left on me
so swept up in
seeing what was coming next

it’s hard to quantify
what is once in a lifetime
when everything happens
at the speed of now
the most impactful moments
seem insignificant until
the ripples they cast
become tsunamis storming