I never liked hypothetical questions
For "what if" is neither here nor there,
But both everywhere and nowhere
And sometimes everything or nothing at all.
What good would it do me to know
What might have happened if
This or that had been the case
Or if so-and-so had been involved?
Nothing, I tell you, because I might then be
A crying heap lain out on the floor or
Ecstatic enough to never touch the ground.
Both options strike me as being melodramatic.
Instead, let me not spend my time
Pining over what could have been
Or lost in the clouds of daydreams once dear,
But looking forward with my head held high
And my faults and failings on full display.
I like this poem. Does the end reverse-shift the rest of the poem? I don't think so, but it's an intriguing question nonetheless.
ReplyDeleteYour voice is also very embedded in this poem, esp. the "melodramatic" line.
I like it. The final stanza was my favorite; the last three lines of stanza two were fun too.
ReplyDeleteI could really hear your voice as I read this poem, as has already been said. I really liked the first stanza.
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