Regret Poems
When Being Right Is Not Enough
by Richard Randolph
In the early 70’s, teenage girls often wore very short shorts.
It was a treat for me, but my dear Italian grandmother was horrified.
When she’d see one of her granddaughters with their legs exposed,
she’d shake her head and tell them to put some clothes on.
She was truly heartbroken, I could tell, but they’d just laugh,
knowing they were right and she was wrong.
And, they were right, but when my grandmother died,
I found myself wishing they’d listened to her simply for her sake.
When I started college, my mother went to Italy,
......
Shade Of Thee.
by Nad Sof
I will not grant that I yet remember thy scent,
Nor that thy smile once was bright as day.
I will not grant that I recall our first embrace,
The first kiss, the first confession.
I mind it all, but to speak it, I refuse.
Many have said:
"Thou dost seek in each new man the shade of him,"
And though it be true,
......
The Unsent Message That Learned My Name
by Oscar Auliq-Ice
It was nothing,
that is the cruelty of it—
nothing that should have grown teeth
and learned how to bite from the inside.
A moment so ordinary
it would not have been remembered
if memory were a fair judge
and not a loyal conspirator.
......
a note from the netherworld
by Miki Vermeulen
The overwhelming feeling of panic and regret
before my eyes fell forever,
was the worst pain imaginable.
You couldn’t see it then
but there was happiness in the shadows
and love on its way to you.
The world was sending you laughter and smiles,
you had so much life to live.
......
Stop To Start
by Ololade Raji
For a start, please stop to start
There are things you are not even aware of
While time is hemming away at your parents
You forgot terrible things come in threes?
As time furtively alters the rhythm of your life
Yet you naïvely joke at the greying of others
Little did you know that not even yours is spared
In the painful existence of these unknown days
......
Making Love to the Night
by Lee-Ann Azzopardi
I hid from the day
For I feel guilty of making love
The light made me fear
The scars my heart had suffered
With the loss of yr love
I sit in the darkness to reach
That forbidden climax
That we had when we made love
The day wonders what it did wrong
But I cannot face the day
......
When Being Right Is Not Enough
by Richard Randolph
In the early 70’s, teenage girls often wore very short shorts.
It was a treat for me, but my dear Italian grandmother was horrified.
When she’d see one of her granddaughters with their legs exposed,
she’d shake her head and tell them to put some clothes on.
She was truly heartbroken, I could tell, but they’d just laugh,
knowing they were right and she was wrong.
And, they were right, but when my grandmother died,
I found myself wishing they’d listened to her simply for her sake.
When I started college, my mother went to Italy,
......
Summer Fairy
by Ajay Tamla
***
"It was early, I was late,
rushing downhill on my bike
when I saw her at the corner—
waiting, checking left, then right
Her hair dark, still shower-damp,
silky-smooth-straight in morning light,
one foot on the curb, another in the street.
......
The door learns.
by Mike Horsfall
The door never learned her name,
I kept my hands like storms, held too tightly,
and spoke in grit and grime
where gentleness should have lived.
I counted my work as if it were love,
while her voice came with softness,
soft enough to be forgiven,
soft enough to be lost.
I closed the door on her heart
......
Aftermath
by Aditi Hayaran
I've tried everything, still you nag,
Stressing me with every conversation you drag.
Again and again, every day,
Anticipating the words before you even say.
I tried ignorance, explained, sometimes yelled,
Yet again failing to do so as my eyes welled.
Enough yelling, I don't even want to cry,
Enough calm from me, now I'll reply.
Here they were, the words I shot,
......
