Oh so many scenes rewind in my mind,
Ones I could have stolen but didn’t try;
Boatloads of chances get gone for good—
Blow them and enter the land of Should.
All the sweet relatives who showed me only kindness,
I should have told I loved but didn’t due to shyness;
I ponder the gifts of time and love they gave
As I recall memories at each one’s grave.
A parade of pretty faces haunts me still
Of gals I should have asked out but lacked the will;
I wonder if we could have become lovers
And realize several are now grandmothers.
I recall bullies I should have defied,
But looked the other way and sadly sighed;
Yet who struck me then as truly hairy
Strike me now as not nearly so scary.
Such exciting concerts did I forgo
Since they cost “way too much for just one show.”
Some of those singers have each become a legend;
They were stupendous performers now long since dead.
How many novels I should have written,
Stories of suspense or lovers smitten,
Literary dreams put on pages,
Not lost hopes from my younger ages.
Shyness is a stubborn thief stealing chances,
A cancer of the will halting advances;
On guard to prevent any leap,
Dreams die hard on its large ash heap.
And if you let key moments pass,
And don’t leap through that looking-glass,
How regret will throb at what could have been,
For a missed chance is the most lasting sin.
