What Happens Next to Nothing

Isn’t nothing. Nothing’s next.
What happens isn’t instant,
Never now, only what just

Now has happened. There it is.
You eat a meal. You’ve eaten.
Next to nothing has happened,

But it has just happened. Next,
You say or think, will be this.
Sometimes, what’s just happened is

So much like what you just said
Would happen next, you’re tempted
To think you predicted it,

That what was next just waited
To happen, and you saw it,
And it did. Once that’s happened,

You can’t resist predicting
What’s next again. And again.
You’re addicted. But what’s next

Won’t happen. As it happens,
The closest you get to next
Is next to nothing. It’s just

What’s just happened can’t be next.
Next is never what’s happened
Next to nothing. You just live.