Retrospect
Sure.
Looking back,
you tell yourself,
you would have done things differently.
You should have tried harder,
been more patient.
You could have done more.
But retrospect
is an observation tower
you run into along the trail.
You climb the wooden ladder
and there is a convenient pair
of binoculars
mounted at the window.
You look through them
and locate the path you walked
and there is your younger self
way off on the horizon.
It all looks so lovely from here-
the lighting is so soft,
the fields so golden,
that you ask yourself,
“Why didn’t I do better?”
But what you can’t see from here
are the stones that you tripped over,
the content and weight
of that pack you carried.
Or the mosquitoes.
And you can’t,
for the life of you,
remember why you were so paralyzed
with the fear of not knowing
what lay ahead.
So, you step away
from the binoculars,
descend the ladder
and keep walking forward
into the unknown,
equipped now with experience
and knowledge gained
from all that past
behind you.
By Maria Brady-Smith
Photo by Mike Smith
Yes…
Thank you for this perspective. It is very comforting right now.
So glad. Thank you, Nettie. You are a treasure.
Good to have this perspective
Thanks, Theresa. I don’t always maintain it, but writing a poem about it helps.
Beautiful invitation to sell forgiveness. Thank you.
Thanks, Barbara. Regrets can really eat at a person. Most of us are just doing the best we can with what we know at any particular time.
Hey Maria. Since I don’t participate in Facebook I’m never aware of any of your events. (Tho right now isn’t an ideal time for events. )
Is it feasible to include notices in this blog?
Thanks
Thanks, Paul. I don’t really have any personal events going on right now, but most of them are through the bookstore. (open mic night, Artist’s Way class, poetry readings, stuff for National Poetry month, etc) and they have a lot of other events such as author talks. Their website is neighborhoodreads.com. You can also sign up for their email newsletter. It has book reviews and events. That way, you don’t have to try to remember to look at their website.