Fifteen years old and full of life
Full of spice
Full of things not understood
Fifteen years old and wished I had
Just said yes
Eighteen years and feel so old
Decisions made
Time to leave home
College can wait I naively voiced
How I wish I had just said yes
Twenty-two and one marriage down
Not what I expected and now
Not what I want
Come with me and we’ll be fine
I should have just said yes
Twenty-four and wandering, wondering
Which way should I go
Posters say to join up now
See the world and learn a skill
Why oh why didn’t I just say yes
Come home for a bit
They said to me
Figure things out and then you’ll see
A happier person you could be
And still I didn’t say yes
Forty years later and all alone
Mistakes I’ve made do not compare
To living with a person who just couldn’t care
Who wanted me to be a person I was not meant to be
Why couldn’t he have just said yes to me
Oh, gosh. So much sorrow and regret here over so many what-ifs. I can’t imagine keeping track of all the ‘choices’ one makes in their life, but this is a good mentor poem to explore those times we can remember that leave us wondering if the ‘other path’ may have yielded a more wonderful life. And then the narrator realizing how others are also faced with similar options, and the impact those also have on our lives. Very complex personal and social relationships explored here.
Hello Denise,
Thank you for your insightful reading and interpretation, it is very much appreciated! 😊