Best Regrets Poems
As large boulders weep,
Tears stream down sharp cheeks of stone:
Sobbing precipice.
unfold age
fold in youth
find lost time
I regret
Not speaking up when I should have
Spewing when I should have been quiet
Not saying I love you
Slinging my anger
Being impatient with others
Bowing to fear
My flaming ego
I regret
I've judged others
Lying without blinking an eye
Living in greed
Lusting for people, places and things
Gross indifference
Ignoring God and his advice
Not living a righteous life
And putting all things before others
I regret
Waiting so late in life to see
What is really important
and not apologizing much sooner
Pithy Pants Poetry Contest
Sponsored by: Maureen McGreavy
1/30/19
Sitting reminiscing
About the subtle signs
Along one’s journey
The roads not traveled
The messages so hard to read
Reminders meant for the soul
Heart longings heard
And those that aren’t
Life passing by
Not taking time to play
Invitations postponed
Believing there’d always be another day
Friends taken for granted
So few opportunities fully grasped
Yet life there for the taking
The seeds of joy neglected
Quiet whispers of could have been
Once the sun goes down
Leaving all our regrets
On the water’s edge
Published in my photo/poetry book ~BY WATER'S EDGE~ 2019
AP: 2nd place 2023
Never let PRESENT
Become the PAST at which you
Look back from the FUTURE and
Perceive with regret
What you should not have let drift
Seize the moment live THE NOW
Footnote:
The Future is a mystery which starts with the magic in the Present.
Please take time to listen to the lyrics in the video clip - which are very expressive of my poem.
Video clip:
Magic - No Regrets/2016
as the weight of my breath becomes
one heavy mist gathering smoke
on the floor, until i holler inside my lungs
as if to collapse or disintegrate
into a pool of mashed bones…
i call you privately
a silence totally numbing my senses,
through nipped murmurs as we are now
strangers in the rain with fractured hands,
drunk on interludes of unfinished tunes
while the moon in your eyes blinds me, naked.
..................................
Contest of Laura Loo: Deep and Dark ll
Submitted 10/25/2017
Form: Infinite Dot Thirteen Verse Is a rare form of poetry, where by the poem is made up of thirteen lines and within the poem has interspersed dots for emphasis on the spoken word. However the total number of dots must add up to 33, and the additions to arrive at this number should or may have significance. Examples would be 16/17 or 10/10/13 or mystical such as 12/12/9 and you can subdivide the 12 say as 7/5 to equal 12. There are no other punctuations used, to place emphasis on the specific pauses.
Life in your thirties
Your getting old in youngsters eyes
Yet what has happened to the years before
I was born ...educated ...loved and lost
Heart ached for the what was and isn't now
Time passed thoughts remain
Where are the friends I made along the way
They dropped .......like stones .....
.....why
Did conversation die
Or fade
.......Regrets
Yes many...when I think of you.
All regrets, in every backward flashback
leave bitter tastes like remorseful morsels
left drowning in your tear welled eyes
each day was longer and lower
lower and loathing
exposed naked in clothing
open and empty without your
....trusting
All regrets, in every backward flashback
chisel names on tombstone with unforgivable clarity
leaving unbearable burials beneath these wretched feet
reincarnated daily sleighing me repeatedly with growing fervor
fervor and hate
filthy face washed over in angst
closed off from safety and salvation without your
....understanding
All regrets, in every backward flashback
grimacing sneers returned in mirrors like evil staring contests
every showdown lost in landslide fashion, reflection laughing
devoured each hour as they slip by consuming
consuming and draining
worlds worth of words and deeds beyond explaining
I'm only half as good and partially whole without your
....forgiveness
Inspired by Mr. Michael Jordan's "Untwisted" contest
Perhaps regrets sadly
Burn holes where pain forms
Even loving madly
Won’t stop these dark storms
Flaming comets burning
Souls joined two as one
Wanting, lusting, yearning
Fire that lit the sun
Dreamers, lovers thwarted
You were my soul’s light
Argued, angry, parted
Guilt paints that black night
Praying angels’ embrace
Wrap their wings ‘round you
Lonely silence replace
The love, once, we knew.
___________________________
March 8, 2018
Written for 88 Syllable Contest
Sponser: Joseph May
(a/c =3 words/2 syllables b/c = 5 words/1 syllable rhyme:abab)
Verified in Howmanysyllables.com
The windows of regret are open now
I long to drift out into the quiet night
But now to my memories I must bow
Holding on to heartaches oh so tight
The window is covered in golden thread
Which moves in rhythm with the breeze
The silken colors mourn my dead
And sorrow brings me to my knees
Why did you leave this world so soon?
Again I taste the salt of silver tears
I should have held you 'neath the moon
Forever through these countless years
To night belong shadows of our past
When innocence crowned our heads
The day that fate had ruled our last
And placed my heart among the dead.......
I never liked the smell of lilacs although they were always
your favorite flower.
When did you stop bringing them home? I never noticed,
Wish I had.
I always thought walking through pine-scented woods was such
a bore, kicking leaves, how foolish I thought, and didn't
hesitate to tell you so...collect them for a fall bouquet,
hell no!
Wish I had.
How my memories haunt me now; I rejected your every whim, such
little things.
You wanting to build a snowman, I complained,
'It's too cold for that', and how hurt you were when I wouldn't
wear that silly hat you bought for my birthday, from my favorite
store,
Wish I had.
I found an old letter today, stuffed deep in the pocket of your
old coat, the one I never liked, both smelling of lilacs.
The letter was penned in an unfamiliar hand.
Bits of crumbled leaves fell as I unfolded the pages of this, your private world.
Some words were faded by time and splotches of tears.
Yours?
Hers?
No matter!
Such gentle words, flowing sweet with love
like the music of a string quartet.
If only I had written those words that must have made you smile,
mellowed your mood, touched your heart, but it's been so long
since I spoke to you of love.
Wish I had.
Sitting alone, lost in a turmoil of cluttered 'might have beens',
the ring of the phone startles me; it's you, expressing your regret,
you are going to be late again.
I wanted to ask you to bring lilacs home for the table I'd just
set, but I didn't!
But oh God! I wish I had!
I was always too proud to cry until now!
I wish I had!
I wish I had!
Cynthia
In times of impending demise, you might see your life being replayed across your mind. Sometimes it’s in fast forward, sometimes in slow motion, sometimes both at once. Life flashes in random order, constantly cycling in and out like an out of control tilt-a-whirl at the county fair. You’d think that with all those moments stuck on a playback loop that one would walk away with perfect recall of all the events. Not true. You can remember things like the first time you pooped in your diaper and that piece of Bazooka Joe bubble gum you pocketed when you were ten years old. Every detail, no matter how small or insignificant will come flooding back. But what the heck just went down, draws a complete blank.
when death feels certain,
life flashes by in seconds—
don’t regret the show
Find yourself
Come face to face
Against a wall or
In a warm embrace.
See yourself
A slivery shadow
Eager to pounce
ready to know.
Touch yourself
A string of words
Snapped by emotion
Fired by verbs.
Smell yourself
A certain stench
Washed in blood
Do not flinch.
Taste yourself
A salty rage
Bitter as bile
Or sweetened by age.
Every Everyday I feel the same old mistakes brushing up my leg and heading
striaght for my heart. Trying make me sting... stupid memories, I can't shake them away
and they just make me feel everyday regrets. I knew you were leaving, I could feel it
inside. Yet it seemed like life just kept moving on... it never let me stop for a minute
to see how you were doing and I blame myself for not saying good bye. Sometimes I cry
when I think about you... sometimes I wonder why I didn't just go see you. One more
mistake and my heart keeps on aching. I'm not ready for this but even so it kills me.
Everyday regrets about the times i'll never forget and the things I never got to say. I
know your looking down on me trying to console me but in my mind everything went wrong
and I wasn't even there... you just passed right along and I couldn't even hold your
hand. I wanted to be there... I had grown up a lot since this ever ending roller coaster
ride and just as I was getting off the dizziness still hadn't worn off. You were taking
away in the middle of the night... I wasn't even there and that makes me sad. I didn't
hear you voice... I didn't show any remorse and it hurts me deep inside that I will never
see your heart beat again or see you talk to me like you used to do. Everyday Regrets and
I keep on blaming myself in a story that just won't ever end and will continue until I
see your face again. I won't forget, I will remember... I disappointed you and that's all
I can say for now goodbye is hardly the words I ever wanted to say. But now your gone and
i'm living with everyday regrets.
some days i wish upon a star,
that you'd come back one day.
you took my heart and shattered it,
and you took my life away.
i thought we'd be together forever,
but that didn't last very long.
the last thing that you said to me was goodbye,
and i said so long.
i love you more than anything,
you don't even understand.
no one can ever love you,
or miss you as much as i can.
if you really loved me,
then you would've stayed.
i regret all the stuff i did with you,
because they're all mistakes i made.