Our journeys are filled with chances
Doorways to not now
Some taken, some ignored, some slammed
Some never noticed
Until the clarity of time reveals the miss
Is it fair, at this point, any point
To wonder about the branches
Ponder the paths pursued and passed
What slipped away on a random day
Swirling into the never will be
What music did we miss
Golden in the beckoning, notes resonant, words pure
Filling in the missing pieces
Of the harmonies
Our spirits yearned to sing
What lover’s name will we never call
The one with all the right answers
To all the murky questions
That we never quite managed
To ask even of ourselves
What vocation inclination eluded our grasp
Instead of the clank and grind we settled for
Grudgingly, perhaps desperately
What would we have done
If we could do anything
What lands would we have discovered
After others but before most
A place where the sun shines like memory
And the food tastes of already tasted
And we know our souls have been here before
Will we ever find solace, wondering about the uncreaked doors
Justifying the measures and the choices and the results
Is it possible to take our dream stick
And stir up the Sea of Then-and-Now
Until the waves change from gray to blue
Or do we toss aside the seeds that never grew
And enjoy the flowers that did bloom, however imperfect
Discolored, but ours, and therefore beautiful
Tending our garden, tending ourselves
And squeezing the juice out of tender fruit
Do we take the chances
To learn new dances
Or do we dance as we have always done
To the music only we can hear
Until our feet find their way once again
Previously published, no changes made. Photo taken in one of the many gardens of the Palacio de Generalife, the “summer palace” at the Alhambra in Granada, Spain.
Categories: Reflections
Bonnywood Manor 
Beautiful x
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Thank you muchly!
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And the mystery of the human condition just gets more impenetrable. But when overseas we do see things from a different view.
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Agreed. When viewed from afar, there is a variation of perspective, however fleeting. I scribbled this one the day we had toured The Alhambra, sitting on a sunny patio at a rented villa in a tiny town whilst my compadres splashed about in a nearby pool…
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I am glad I danced the dance I did – I do not wish for any others – only that it could have lasted longer.
Lovey writing Brian.
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Thanks, Claudette. And hey, if you’ve already done the perfect dance, well, that’s a wonderful thing…
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It is indeed. I wouldn’t say it was perfect – because I think perfection is boring – but it was damn close from my perspective.
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My garden is always full of weeds, but that probably wasn’t your point.
😉
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Well, these words were meant to be interpreted however the reader wants to take them, so as long as you found something relatable, I’m good… 😉
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wonderful; a more lyrical and open-ended musing on the old what-ifs of my poem ‘Them’
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Sounds intriguing, is this available somewhere for us to enjoy?
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yes, read my post ‘Them’
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Thanks, John. I admire your own poetry, so it’s nice that you enjoyed one of mine…
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This sums up life at our age so beautifully. How many of us are truly content? I think we all spend some time dwelling on missed opportunities.
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Thank you! I’ve been struggling with some of these very questions lately, so as I was messing around in the archives last night and stumbled across this one, well, my next post was quickly decided. If only I had pondered these thoughts when I was twenty and still had plenty of time to make better plans…
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Wow, this really hit me with all of the feels this morning, brought back a whole range of emotions and some of my parents’ life advice (stolen from others so I can’t give proper credit) immediately popped into my mind. Gems such as “Life is short, buy the shoes” & “Bad decisions make the best stories!” All of this has convinced me to go back to bed and start over tomorrow. Im not crying, you’re crying 😭
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I have to admit, I also got the feels when I found this one in my archives folder. Partly because of what it says, but also partly because of the way re-reading this took me directly back to the exquisite afternoon when I wrote it. We were in southern Spain, which I love, with my partner and two terrific friends, whom I love. They were entertaining themselves in the nearby pool whilst I was writing (which I obviously love doing), Partner was playing a mix tape of throwback songs that we all love, and the sunlight was perfectly golden. It was a wonderful day. But then I started thinking about other wonderful days that could have been, and I opened a fresh Word document…
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This sounds like a fabulous day, one worth repeating as often as possible!
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‘Bad decisions make the best stories’ Ain’t that the hard learned truth! Or for some, myself included, hardly learned.
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Hardly learned sums it all up perfectly!
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Beautifully composed, Brian, and certainly nails where I am right now, a little more than one year away from retirement. I’ve come to terms with the longings and age has brought a recognition and acceptance of my own drawbacks, some I’ve been able to overcome, others have finally been given a place at the table. Cheers and thanks for sharing not only this piece, but all the others, bits of yourself. 🙂
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Thanks, Lynette. I’m lucky in that, at least from a writing perspective, I stopped worrying about what others might think of my words. This might sound a bit callous, but I only say that because “not worrying” gives you a freedom to actually be yourself. Once you reach that point, your writing will inevitably become more human, more relatable, because you’re sharing truth. And we need SO much more of that, these days.
As for this particular piece, I’m still working on that “acceptance” angle. I still have my blue days when I regret all the “if I only had done things differently” moments in my life. But we’re at the point where things have become rather finite, with limited options and limited time. I must learn to be happy with how I played the game, because most of my moves cannot be changed. And the essence of this paragraph is what led to the poem above, scribbled on a patio in southern Spain…
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I love this, Brian!
Let’s tend the flowers we have, dance how we know to dance, then keep trying new steps and perhaps finding that seeds long ago cast away, have bloomed into a yet undiscovered garden waiting for us.
Salud!
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Thanks, Angie. I love your comment, and I knew that you would get exactly what I was trying to say with this piece. We will find those gardens, yes we will… 😉
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I didn’t realize you’ve the soul of a poet,
But now that you’ve “chanced” to show it,
I’ll look forward to seeing more
Of what I hadn’t discovered before.
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I must admit I’m very happy to see
The acknowledgement of my poetry
Your words are rhyming and kind
But the imp that dwells in my mind
Feels compelled to point a finger
At the many past posts that linger
In the archives slumbering on the right
Where if you click, you just might
Find that many poems have been sprinked
In the thousands of words I have inked
Perhaps you might choose to explore
And then knock again upon my door
P.S. Ignore any “mean girl” vibe you might be getting from the above. I was just having fun and being silly. You know how working with words can easily lead one astray, especially when you’re trying to rhyme the damn things… 😉
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As always, you hit the mark, Brian. I was hoping to see you in my feed today.
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Hey there! I knew you had been quiet on WP for a while, but I’m certainly glad you’re back, and now I’m off to catch up on your latest thoughts… 🙂
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How beautiful Brian, thanks for sharing 🙂
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Thanks, Margaret! I enjoy dabbling in poetry, but many of those dabbles never make it to Bonnywood. I’ll try to do better… 😉
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I think You do very well Brian with all your entries and all appreciated 🙂
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