'T is in the twinkle of escape
That all our safety lies.
Of danger-whatsoe'er the shape-
The nearness naught implies:
This side is life; that side, a breath
Of deviation, instant death.
'T is in the present I am free
The mental die to cast;
The future yet of mastery
Is palsied as the past;
Between, the breathless balance still
Awaits the hesitating will.