With Hindsight

Don't we all suffer from this?

Many, many moons ago

too many to confess,

I revealed my reasons for parting

and he would remember the rest.

It wasn't my finest hour,

while caught in the cold April rain,

I stumbled on words I was saying

and knew they were causing him pain.

Oh, it wasn't the morning shower

that drizzled his cheeks with wet,

it was the message that I was conveying,

so coldly without a regret.

With hindsight I wish I had waited

not knowing his days were numbered

and the affliction that he would succumb to

would attack and leave him encumbered.

His fate descended in darkness,

on reflection I wish I had known

that his cards were marked by misfortune,

a lament I can not atone.

In a box in my loft I discovered

concealed and hidden for years,

a greeting he sent me one Christmas,

now smudged by my much older tears.

Reviews

[willweb]

Every time I think of regrets, the song, "I did it my way" seems to start playing in my mind. "regrets, I've had a few, but then again, too few to mention" Sometimes relationships end for good reasons and sometimes for not so good reasons but in the end, they were relationships and hopefully there were good times and things were learned along the way. i am sorry for whatever ailment found your friend later in life but that happens too. I do know one thing for sure, a great poem came from the mix, so for that, there should be no regrets at all.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you will. Yes, I poemed him and I think he would be thrilled to know that. Have a good Sunday.

Chris

[Ken Simm.]

Hindsight is indeed a wonderful thing. We cannot beat ourselves about what might have been and I'm just as guilty as any. Or perhaps moreso. But away from the interesting subject, on which I could prevaricate for hours. This is a finely written, almost monologue, (without the humour and I mean that in the finest possible way) poem that simply and literally cries out to be read aloud.

[Chris Shaw]

An old poem Ken, out for an April airing. Hindsight, can always put perspective on situations as well as perhaps regrets. Many thank yous for the visit.

Chris

[Lisasview]

Good morning dear Chris,
Such a wonderfully written poem with such amazing thoughts of regret.
great that as a poet you can write them down..and possibly release a bit of the guilt..
one struggles I think with thoughts of their past .. what they should have.. what they could have.. I know that I do.
people will say Oh the past is the past or things like let it go..or there are far more terrible things in life..but, that is easier said then done.
As we get older our memories get stronger..so again, we as poets are lucky that we have some form that gives us a bit of relief.
Sorry for spelling errors.. i am typing with my left finger as i had a horrible accident yesterday ..fell on my terra costa stone floor and broke my clavicle bone near my shoulder joint. spent hours in the emergency
tomorrow i find out if i need surgery.. horrendous pain..
lisa

[Chris Shaw]

Dear Lisa, I love your reviews but I love this one more. You review when you are in terrible pain. So sorry about your accident, hoping you won’t need surgery. I appreciate so much your one finger typing. You will be in my thoughts today. Yes, our memories do get stronger and come alive as we age and reflect. I have poemed him, he would have liked that.

Chris

[Lydia Shutter]

What a sad tale this one tells, Chris. At our age, we all have some regrets. When you left him on that rainy day, you were doing so because you needed to for your own well being. No one knows what tomorrow brings and the fact he became ill soon after was not your fault. That is not something to regret. I am sure you have fond memories of him too. Those are the ones smudging the ink on that Christmas card. Such an outpouring of emotions....and written so well. The rhyming is not forced and each stanza flows into the next. Wonderful work, Chris. Lydi**

[Chris Shaw]

Many thank yous dear Lydi** for sharing your thoughts. You are right, I didn’t know of his illness. That was diagnosed later. He was a lovely young man and I am sure he would be delighted that I poemed him. Have a good Sunday.

Chris

[W. Barrett Munn]

As the stanzas progress the poignancy and sad notes work to damper the rhymes and place them solidly into the category of a aid to boost rhythm or the message. An interestein rhyme scheme to mix with an otherwise sad memory.

Winston

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Winston. I appreciate your thoughts. Pleased you stopped by.

Chris

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Hmmm ... could we but only undo the damage that we have done, that so often revisits on wings of a guilty conscience. This is beautiful but sad.

[Chris Shaw]

Thank you Linda. Your thoughts are very much appreciated. All the best.

Chris

[Betty Hermelee]

A very heartfelt poem Chris; we all have regrets and make mistakes but that is human nature; what makes it worse is that the person involved was ill and supposedly you did not know that at the time, so you came to regret it, but that is hindsight and we cannot look back and say I shouldn't have said that because you can't erase it anyway....this is sad, yet very tender....
Best, B

[Red Brick Keshner]

That is sad and painful and filled with tragic regret. It appears we most of us live with regrettable stuff that at the time seemed the best thing to do. It highlights our need for reciprocal kindness and forgiveness. That old greeting card wow, been there and sometimes the older tears are joined by once just fresh. Hard hitting read. Much to meditate on here.

[Soren]

Regrets, the debts we owe ourselves, are so hard to repay. How does one live a life without them when we do not know the consequences of our actions. This was a touching poem Chris and it strikes deep in my soul and I think in many others as well. Well written and with such a great ending verse.

[Relic]

I'm sure we can all find something in our past that we regret. Something that still holds as much weight now as it did then. Being able to move on in cases like that are not easy. I know, I've got a bunch of regrets.

It's often the finalization of someone's death that we realize we could have been less abrasive to them. Perhaps maturity is like one of those people that show up late all the time. And yeah, those if only's are often hard to deal with.

[red93]

Aah Chris - how beautiful these tender recollections - I bet you were a heartbreaker in your day 😁