Best Regret Poems
Now walking through the autumn of my life
Where maple leaves have turned from green to gold
I watch them fall in breezes turning cold
In a whirl-wind of harmony and strife
And I ponder, on the fact that I might
In the light, as another day unfolds
Have, like these dying autumn leaves, grown old
Slow spiraling toward the pending night
Moss grows along the path where I now step
That rocky road now softened by the years
Seeing for the first time, so crystal clear
That I will leave this life with one regret
This vision, that these old eyes now behold
Those blazing flames, when autumn leaves let go.
Author: Elaine Cecelia George of Canada
Why I did it, I don’t know
Tornado of regret tortures my heart
On a moonless night, he approached
Limping toward me as I pumped gas
Why was it fear and not compassion
With which I greeted him
Surely homeless, he must have slept ‘neath stars
Society’s outcasts camp on the beach,
Crossing the coastal highway only under night’s cloak
Deep lines on his sun-aged skin
Bespoke many years, perhaps 70
Dirty clothes tattered, barely covering his thin frame
No, I have no spare change
No, no, I won’t help you
I just wanted him to go away
Disappointment filled his eyes
He turned and hobbled to a nearby bench
When he sat, I was horrified
All his possessions lay beside him on the seat
An old Army cap he pulled out
And placed it on his head
He fought for our country
And I could not find a few dollars to help
As I drove away, I burst into tears
Feeling ashamed, disgusted with myself
Only two blocks from home,
I turned my car around
But he had moved on
January 13, 2020
Born out of wedlock
she gave up her baby girl
for quick adoption.
Twice married since, old and frail,
she laments her childless life.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Contest: Regret
Sponsor: Frank Herrera
Chosen POTD-1st Oct 2016
Sun is held hostage by a blanket of clouds,
reflecting an agitated addict's ashtray.
Birds depart from soaked naked branches,
as eyes seek refuge from the ugliness of change.
I peer beneath this umbrage pitched upon the ground
anticipating a palette of summer to simper back
yet all I see are stick figure shadows frolicking
as this bitter autumn wind encircles me
Symphonies of the sky continuously weep.
I watch petals float in puddles of regret,
so I reflect back to a summer of mon amour,
where Michelangelo hands sculptured my garden.
Reflecting back, delicate strokes within velvety folds
as fingers trace the edges of my heart's blossom
crimson drops slip silently between my hands
for even the beauty of a rose holds autumn's thorns
Secure from rustic debris that blow against windows,
5pm twilight, means no rekindling with my cherished sun.
My shortened days lash back through glares of street lamps
with frosty glass etchings chiselled by night's harsh breath.
Collaboration with Sandra Adams
Silent One
20 October 2019
Her name was Regret, with a rocket step
She was chestnut flashing, released lightning
In a century past, an age of side saddles and corsets
She was feminism set free, blazing down racetracks
She matched the undefeated wind
Besting the boys, again and again
Her arduous suitors, fools for the chase
Fell, one by one, under her pace
And, left to shade of golden wings flown
Had to settle for escorting her home
She was the first queen to display the red
Of Kentucky Derby roses around her head
Her exploits so adroit, she won her peers
And named American Horse of the Year
Her place in racing legacy, set
Not bad for a filly named Regret.
(in 1915, Regret was the first filly to win the Kentucky Derby)
10/14/21
A Notable Horse Premiere contest
Sponsor: Robert James Liguor
Placed 10th
Poem of the Day
10/15/21
If I weren't afraid, I'd...
Have pulled that red lipstick
Out of my purse
And with cover
Of sister and cousin
Surrounding your coffin
Replaced that drab pink coral
With your trademark red
We knew it wasn't a colour
You'd have been caught in dead
9/11/2019
Requiem for Henry and Sylvia
The papers arrived today. I gaze out the window of our posh villa and witness yet another spectacular Tuscan sunset. To my delight, a red-billed leiothrix is flitting about the umbrella tree, as if searching for its lost mate. I rise, slip on my Bottega Venetas and pour myself another cup of Danesi Italian coffee.
Memories flood my brain without my consent. There were happy times spent at the beach, endlessly searching for the prettiest or most unique seashells. Were they really good times? Maybe. It's all a blur now.
The large envelope lay on the expertly crafted Bocote table her artisan father made for us as a wedding gift. Rusty, our faithful corgi, rests at my feet. But he's not asleep. He's glaring at me with eyes of disdain, as if it was my fault she left.
I ask Alexa to play Handel's Messiah, then slowly open the drawer to finish the task at hand. There is just one problem. Where did I put that damn Montblanc Royal pen?
musing on what was
under a Tuscan sunset
coffee tastes bitter
I’ve decided to be rid of some things:
a moth-holed sequined dress with bitter tags,
the weeping journal of ennui and pain,
the mocking trophy case of trophied dust,
proud calligraphed to-do lists left unchecked.
Let them shout accusations from the curb!
February 20, 2019
C ountry roots beckon regrets of past transgression
O ne-way ticket meant to soothe my innermost obsession
M emories of you not fading with passing of the years
I mmortal flame has kept alive cherished souvenirs
N aively thinking I’d drift and just avoid the truth
G ames were played in the foolish gardens of my youth
B almy nights not forgotten in the heat of summertide
A ugust breezes summon me to return home by your side
C innabar and cinnamon reverie of your perfume in moonlight
K aleidoscopic magic remembered in your eyes at midnight
H eartstrings of surrender repentant to bygone wanderlust
O pen your heart and grant me a chance to earn again your trust
M oonstruck and lovesick ready to prove myself and pay my due
E nchanted under your spell I’ve come back home to you
AP: Honorable Mention 2021
Submitted on February 14, 2021 for contest COMING BACK HOME sponsored by JOHN HAMILTON - RANKED 2ND
I am not remembered in any form or way
Undeserving of their love and respect.
I understand, and yet I grieve.
For myself.
For what I lost
Ignoring the ones who could have
Showered me with love
But did not
Because they knew me not.
I reserve my place in the cosmos
Of ignorance
Recognizing truth and love
once again upon the throne of death
as I enter a kingdom I do not deserve
The angels grabbed me and gave me
what I had sought on earth in the form
of lust, not even my biggest mistake.
My soul cries now
At a life not lived.
The storms are raging on the rollin' sea, and on the highway of regret
Yes, I played around, was unfaithful to you, I'd change it all you bet.
I truly loved you with all my heart, but I tried to act all cool
I'd stay out partying all night long and now realise I was just a fool.
I'd get in, go straight to bed and stay in there till noon
You'd come in from work as I was going out and I'd say "I'll see you soon"
I went to a seedy club one night, when I should have been home in bed
Your sister tracked me down that night, I'll never forget what she said.
"Susan has taken an overdose and she's been rushed to A and E"
Those words were like an electric shock and it was all because of me
We finally got to the hospital and I was in such a terrible state.
All your family were there crying by your bed and I knew we were too late.
Your dad said "John you're not welcome here and its best that you leave,
Please don't come to her funeral and find somewhere else to grieve".
I went back to our empty house and I just broke down and cried
And it hit me that the way that I'd treated you is the reason why you died.
I spiralled downhill very fast and quickly turned to drink
My mind was in a turmoil; I couldn't focus to even think
I lost our house and all my friends and I was sleeping rough
I wanted to end my useless life because I'd had enough.
Folk at a local church took pity on me and slowly I got well
I found some purpose with my life and escaped my living hell
I still have some bad days though and I know I'm not there yet
And on those bad days I slowly walk on that highway of regret.
Written February 12th 2020.
For Poetic lines 3 - love Songs Poetry Contest.
Sponsored By Silent One.
The first line of this poem-The storms are raging on the rollin' sea and on the highway of regret is from the song- Make you feel my love and the credit goes to the writer of the song- Bob Dylan ).
Reach out to the ones you love today.
Important things to say and convey.
Do not waste few opportunities.
To blame yourself at the eulogy.
You might not see them ever again.
Surely inside your pain will remain.
Do it before the Tears of Regret.
Right now my friend, before the Sun sets.
Michael Tor
My heart will keep on beating,
my lungs will fill with air.
I'm not going to spend the rest of my life,
wishing you were there.
Sun is held hostage by a blanket of clouds,
reflecting an agitated addict's ashtray.
Birds depart from soaked naked branches,
as eyes seek refuge from the ugliness of change.
I peer beneath this umbrage pitched upon the ground
anticipating a palette of summer to simper back
yet all I see are stick figure shadows frolicking
as this bitter autumn wind encircles me
Symphonies of the sky continuously weep.
I watch petals float in puddles of regret,
so I reflect back to a summer of mon amour,
where Michelangelo hands sculptured my garden.
Reflecting back, delicate strokes within velvety folds
as fingers trace the edges of my heart's blossom
crimson drops slip silently between my hands
for even the beauty of a rose holds autumn's thorns
Secure from rustic debris that blow against windows,
5pm twilight, means no rekindling with my cherished sun.
My shortened days lash back through glares of street lamps
with frosty glass etchings chiseled by night's harsh breath.
A collaboration with Silent One
Locked within the confines of my mind’s dark cell,
Both convict and captor, a self made hell.
Each thought a shackle, every memory a bar,
Confined by my own mind, a prisoner of psychological scars.
In this self-imposed exile, I am utterly alone,
A solitary figure locked in a world of dark, cold stone.
Forsaken by hope, abandoned by light,
I dwell in the shadows, a prisoner of everlasting night.
These lonely walls echo my silent screams,
As I fight with demons, trapped in dreadful dreams.
I reach out for redemption, but find none there,
In this self made prison, my remorseful soul lays bare.
For I am the architect of my own demise,
Sentenced to solitude, beneath storming skies.
Cramped within the confines of my own creation,
Condemned to a life of eternal damnation.