THE LITTLE SHOP THAT SOLD TOMORROWS

THE LITTLE SHOP THAT SOLD TOMORROWS

I found a shop down a crooked lane
Where I swear no shop had stood before,
Its windows shone through the pouring rain
And a silver bell hung above the door.

A tiny man in a purple coat
Was dusting bottles upon a shelf,
Each had a label tied round its throat,
But none of the words explained itself.

“What do you sell?” I asked the man.
He smiled as though he already knew,
“I sell tomorrows in every plan,
The question is, which one belongs to you?”

He showed me one full of summer skies,
One full of riches, silver and gold,
One promised youth with younger eyes,
And one said I never would grow old.

A small blue bottle began to glow,
Inside was laughter, warm and clear,
“That one looks lovely. I’ll take it home.”
He said, “That one costs you one whole year.”

I placed it back with a shaking hand,
“A year is too precious to give away.”
The little man nodded as if he had planned
For me to understand that day.

“What about this one?” I asked once more,
It held a house by a peaceful sea,
“A beautiful future,” he said, “but for
Every old memory you must give to me.”

I thought of faces I couldn’t lose,
Of hands I held and voices gone,
“That is a price I’ll never choose,
My memories are where love lives on.”

At last he reached for an empty jar
With nothing inside but a speck of light,
“This one won’t take you very far,
It only promises tomorrow night.”

“How much?” I whispered. He shook his head,
“You pay by living the day you’re in,
By saying the words that must be said
And letting a little happiness begin.”

I turned to leave with the empty glass,
But the shop and the man both disappeared,
There was only rain upon the path
And the sound of the bell that nobody heard.

I carried that jar through all my days,
Though others swore there was nothing there,
But whenever life became a haze,
A tiny light still filled the air.

We spend our lives chasing what comes next,
As though today is something borrowed,
But perhaps the finest gift we get
Is waking up to one more tomorrow.