Is time really how we experience it, a linear sequence of events with a beginning and an end—a Big Bang at one end and an End Times on the other? Or does it function, as some believe, as a never-ending cycle, a serpent eating its tail that infinitely repeats itself? Or is it both—or something else entirely? We furry bipedal creatures will probably never wrap our meaty brains around the puzzle, at least not while we are encased in these bodies. All we can do is assemble the best suitcase of memories possible while our second hand unwinds.

Cyndi Lauper, “Time After Time,” Written by Cyndi Lauper & Rob Hyman, 1983.

This post is part of Music 100, a love letter to songs. 100 words on 100 songs in 100 days, running from Groundhog Day to early June, 2025.

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