Danny Derden | + Follow Poet |
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Without Regrets What Have I Left

The end of days is a term
Dark enough
To make men squirm
And real enough
In a way
To make one consider
His final day…
Without regrets…who’s to say

And doing so I must look back

On what I wrought
And what I wrecked
What I built
And what I broke
What I gave 
And what I took

Then the book that tallies sums
Finds me wanting
And then some
For my life
And energy
Was focused primarily
On what I wanted at the time
And self-indulgence
Seemed not a crime
To lift oneself above the throng
Seemed fitting, nothing wrong
And so I worked and earned my wage
And climbed over brothers in my rage
Having more my only gauge
My appetites were not assuaged
And more I took as if by right
And endless quest
Both day and night
Without regrets, without a care
I took far more than my share
Wealth, pleasure, and acclaim
Let my enemies
Fear my name
All these things I held in pride
And boasted to never stand aside
I thought myself a god, a king
And now face the truth
It was a worthless thing
A vanity to suppose
That fleeting riches 
Even wealth untold
Could match the value
Of a single soul
Or just one breath
A solitary heartbeat
The veil between
Life and death

And now upon my end of days
I wish that I had changed my ways
And focused instead
On the sovereignty of the Lord
And humanity
Then perhaps I’d have something more
Than regrets at life’s final door

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