Sporting crisply pressed regrets
and tight-assed judgments,
the past happened upon me,
caught me mid-mediocracy,
eye-balled me with a sneer,
and then strolled on by as if
I wasn’t even worth a ‘hello’.
Wait a minute, I cried out
trying to pull myself together,
noting too late, my lack of
grooming, how unfairly
I’d been caught off guard –
Wait! I’ve been wanting
to tell you…I mean… I was
just too young…
All in vain, he’d vanished,
left me gaping and rattled –
damned he looked good –
foolishly pining after
righteousness, imagining
the past as something
tangible, curable….
The mind loves to trick us – perhaps because we love to trick ourselves …. and no one enjoys standing up and owning their own “foolishness” – (shame, guilt, innocence etc.) … and yet, even in that breath-taking moment, the “Surprise – Gotcha” (again) we still clamor *as if* we must Prove something …. yet, let the illusions fall and shatter … no proof was/is ever needed; we’re all human, – fallible, foolish, light-dark hearted, in moments, by turns and seasons – and the lesson is learning to let it all —- go!
I really like how you grab our attention right off V.J. – that is a killer first line …. crisp for the bite … and then we just keep on chewing ….
and the fact is, you’ve captured all the tumult of the feelings, the mixed, crushing emotions here, which makes this both pleasure and pain to read …. (LOL, sure, it sounds weird – but an edgy-worded poem offers that) … 🙂
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Thank you so much Pat! It is so nice to meet someone who appreciates your words (as I do yours). “Pleasure and pain” – isn’t that one of the beauties of poetry.
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LOL@pleasure and pain — one can’t have one without the other, and writing, like life, isn’t exempt! But then, I suspect, it’s what we choose to make of it all, with it, anyhow, that counts, in the end. 🙂
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This is brilliant! Those first two lines hooked me so hard and it went on just as powerfully. The past and how it haunts and mocks us, you brought it to life.
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Thanks. It means a lot coming from you. I really admire your work.
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Oh how past images and wishful fantasies still manage to haunt us..
” First of all nothing will happen and a little later nothing will happen again” – Leonard Cohen
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A dear friend who passed away this year also loved Leonard. Your words keep her memory strong
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I think his works will have a lasting effect on many millions of people throughout the world….
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Crisply pressed was my favorite. Brought such emotional vividness to what we do to those old memories. Great choice of word feel.
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Thank you so much
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pain brough alive with words🌾
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Yes. thank you.
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in reflection all looks good but never in the present – such a fancy poem – loved it
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Thanks Gina
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I love the first 3 lines, really draws me in as a reader. The past is such a tease, always looking better than it really was…
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Exactly….all dressed up and fancy…
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