Sadly, one cannot
Yearn one’s way into
Another’s heart,
Only skulk around
The margins hoping
Something will change,
Reading great promise
Into irrelevant events,
The object of one’s
Ardor unaware.
There are things that
Need to be finished
And yet aren’t.
Matters left for
Another time
That never arrives.
Regrets stuffed
Deeper down, to
Resurface another day.
Opening a box of
Old things, he’s
Transported back to
A time when things
Seemed brighter, when
The whole world was
Wide open, exciting,
Nothing insurmountable.
He puts everything
Back in, closing off
That part of him again.
It’s a sad, troubling moment
When you perceive the closing of
A mind, the point at which you
Realize that you’re not talking
With the same person you once
Knew but one who has become
Permeated by something other
Than what you both used to
Consider so commonplace that
It was never even mentioned.
Things that seemed so commonplace
Now holding places of distinction
In memory, minor now major,
The passage of time imparting
New depth of color and hue
To what was once easily overlooked,
Were it not too late already.
Gazing wistfully at
The cassette tape,
Remembering a time
That will never return,
Friends long gone,
Events relegated to
Personal history,
Remembered perhaps
Only by him,
A mix of happiness and loss.
If you had told me
That that one event
Would change my life
So irreparably, I
Would have laughed at
Such an outlandish
Notion, as I’m sure
I did about so many
Other things of
Lasting consequence.
If only there were
A way to travel back
And implore myself to
Consider other options
Instead of picking up
The pieces for the
Rest of my days.
I’m sorry for
What I did,
I didn’t know
What else to do.
If I had a chance
To relive the moment,
I would behave
Differently.
I wish time
Would allow me to
Go back and
Change things.
If only you
Could see me now,
On my
New path.
Start.
Stop.
Second-guess.
Fret.
Start again.
Stop again.
Think about it some more.
Worry some.
Start.
Falter.
Fade.
