The Longings of a Life too Late…
His eyes are closed
Hands resting on his chest
He lies there still and silent
Outward peace and quiet
Inward growing violent.
An unrelenting agony
A cesspool of regrets
But this you’ll never see
He hides it well.
These thoughts that come have done their time
They took a number, stood in line
He never let them in.
So now, defenses all abandoned
No excuses, no delay
No one left to answer them
But him
So now they’ll have their say.
“What did I have to lose?
Why did I let go so soon?
My life a ruin.
Pity was a traitor
Always thought things would change later
Never stopped to feel the breeze
Or slow it down
I let me down
I let me drown.
I had the time, the fault all mine –
I never learned to live!
Religion and my rituals
Deferred the questions burning in me
Made me just a copy
Of my father’s father’s mind.
Eroded my imagination
Feeling this disintegration
I became an ally
To my personal demise.
What was it about me that I just had to focus on?
As if no one else around me had their own lives going on?
I had the time, the fault all mine –
I never learned to live!
If only I’d have conquered fear
And kept to all my dreams
Not found something wrong with everything
And not been scared to lead
If I’d just have been real
And reached out when I had need
Maybe when I got here
I’d not be in agony.
I feared to face the silence
Now it’s here, but it’s too late
Cause now that I’m all ears
It’s past its expiration date.
How sad that now I knows these things
And long to go and give
I’m buried in a graveyard
And have no life left to live.”