Midnight Ache

Regret in old age
is the midnight ache
that keeps you awake
when rest is most needed.

In bygone days,
you feasted beneath green trees
where wildflowers blossomed.
In fertile fields and on hillsides,
grapes ripened on the vine
beneath cerulean skies
brightened by the warming sun.
You reaped a bountiful harvest
and shared new wine with friends.

Sunshine friends are now midnight ghosts,
their hearty laughter has faded to sighs,
haunting you with vague memories, soughing
like wind rattling bare branches
of dead trees.

At midnight you remember
draining your cups at sunset.
Now you drink
from a wasted vessel
replenished by the pain of regret.

Regret in old age
Is the midnight ache
That keeps you awake
When rest is most needed.