If Only
In the autumn of my life I peer back through the misty past,
Recalling the many "if onlys" that at my feet were cast.
"If only" I had done this or had not done that, I reminisce,
Some things might have gone smoother, others perhaps amiss.
"If only" I'd been an earnest pupil, would I have been further ahead?
Alas, I chose to daydream and just eke by instead!
"If only" I had opted for a career other than that I chose,
Would my life have been more meaningful to others - who knows!
"If only" I had been more considerate of others along life's way.
"If only" I had shown more love and compassion each passing day.
I was blessed with wonderful parents ordained by God above.
"If only" I had expressed to them more often my endearing love.
"If only" I'd bought that vacant land where a shopping mall now stands,
My spouse and I could have retired to one of those tropical strands!
"If only" I had invested in that "hot" stock many years ago,
I could fish and play golf every day and watch it steadily grow!
"If only", two little words spoken, alas, often to late!
"If only! If only!" I muse, what would have been my fate?
Had I taken different paths along life's precarious bourne,
Would the vicissitudes of life been less onerous for me to have borne?
Entry for Silent One's "Response To If" Contest
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