Regret and Progress

what you regret, is a feeling
but not a reality
always in the real life
the past is rarely ever exactly
what you remember it to be

why you regret, is the feeling
of something better

than your present
from a distant past
because you have yet to move on

in any honest sense

whom you regret is a real person
not just a memory
idealized in remembrance
distorted from longing
desperately for what has passed

you must respect that

you must respect them

you must respect yourself

and how you overcome this regret
is to move on in honesty
but never forget the memories  
and always remember the feelings
so as to apply them to a new day

to a new love

to a new passion

with great hopefulness

and clear eyes

with a full heart

and a sound mind

 

and hopefully. . .

with a lot fewer mistakes

Author's Note

Reviews

[light and ashes]

"and how you overcome this regret is to move on in honesty, but never forget the memories, and always remember the feelings so as to apply them to a new day
to a new love
to a new passion

with great hopefulness
and clear eyes

with a full heart and a sound mind

and hopefully with a lot fewer mistakes" Your poem is the advice that I needed to hear today, thank you. Sometimes those things feel like they are distant and out of reach....but hopefully, they are not as distant as they seem.

[guy drori]

The ending was definitely hopeful and indeed it is best to channel regret to a place where it can teach you.

[Gee]

Not listening at school and messing so many father's daughters about ( now that I have a daughter) but the biggest regret is marrying in secret therefore denying my father in law the chance to walk his daughter down the aisle, the proudest day of any man's life. It would break my heart if my child did the same.

[Davidgeo]

That comment eludes to a very interesting backstory.

The things that prompt secret marriages are never not interesting. You'll have to tell me about that in greater detail sometime.

[Gee]

Not that interesting. My in laws to be wanted to pay for us to get Wed abroad, we didn't, my wife's female boss, who treated her as the child she never had, wanted to pay for us to marry in a plush hotel in Scotland and my family were trying to foister all manner of brats onto us to be flower girls, page boys etc, etc. So, we thought f**k 'em, got my best mate and his wife as witnesses and went and married that way. Put so many noses out of joint. See, boring.

[Davidgeo]

I've watched reality television that was far less mundane.

You should count yourself lucky. At least you have a story to tell.

[Gee]

Tis easy to get married, a lot less easy to stay that way. Acceptance, warts and all, can in the beginning lead to much tongue biting.
I take it you chose to remain single David

[Travis Gibson (poetic h..]

Whew, this hit home... finding the gift of things learned within the rumble of a situation you regret is as difficult as it sounds, at least for me. Lol you've written the flip side of that coin with accuracy. Great write.

[Davidgeo]

Regret is a b***h. Learning from it requires us to be self effacing and objective.... which is doubly a b***h.

I'm glad you enjoyed this one. My emo poems usually kinda suck.

[Travis Gibson (poetic heroics)]

This was anything, but that. Lol

[Davidgeo]

It's close enough.

[sonnie ibadah]

Okay....let me try and play it cool *inhales deeply* bro...can I call you bro? I think i'm going to call you bro. First of all, your writing style is simple but amazing but you already knew that. I'm obsessing here, in a none threatening way of course.

Anyways, regret is something most of us do not want to admit. To most, it's something that bothers us more than insecurities. The 'what-ifs' and 'shouldn't haves' have a way of stealing our peace. You've penned this beautifully

[Davidgeo]

You can call me anything you like.

As we get older regret does have more and more of a tendency to steal our peace, you stated that perfectly.

If I had to guess almost the entire reason behind the 'mid life crisis' is regret. Regret can be useful for growth and progress but one must be very careful to avoid being devoured by it entirely. By the time one realizes the damage it has done to their personality and disposition it's usually too late.

[sonnie ibadah]

Exactly. Plsying back memories and thinking of how you could have done things different seems harmless but in the end it's not. Again, thanks for sharing

[Diane]

I really enjoyed your work. Words of wisdom.
"you must respect that
you must respect them
you must respect yourself"

[Davidgeo]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I think it's a good message for those who have yet to move on from something untenable. We don't have to burn down the things we used to love to move on... unless they make us, it's always better to be decent in departure. It always helps us land softer.

[Diane]

100% agree with everything you just said.

[Neville]

Before you block me... I just want to say, this is absolutely sp

[Neville]

ot on......N

[Davidgeo]

That's mighty kind of you to say... c**t.

[Neville]

I meant can't..

[KWP]

*laughing ...

[Cherrie Palmer]

When we get sentimental we can have an one dimensional memory, forgetting all the why's of the past.

[Relic]

I'll agree with this. Although mistakes are always going to be a part of the equation. Even if they're only little ones. Getting over someone is hard. That's all there is to it.