No Regrets
If I have made a change in some small part,
in all my taking, if I’ve given back
at least a portion, then I don’t regret
the fact that of my days on earth, the best
were spent with you. And I thank God you came.
The air was bitter cold the night you came,
and loneliness was tearing me apart.
I was to die: I thought that death was best.
You reached into my death and pulled me back.
You took an interest, and had no regret.
I live today, nor could I long regret
the happy day my guardian angel came.
A lifetime would not serve to pay you back
for all the kindnesses you did impart—
clear evidence our Father knows what’s best.
Of all the friends I’ve had, you are the best;
and yet it’s true, I have but one regret—
the whole I cannot give you—only part,
because too late to me your friendship came.
If only we could turn the hours back….
I had to go away, but I’ll come back;
goodbye was hard to say, but it was best.
Please wait for me. I promise when I come,
the years of absence we will not regret,
for in our friendship they have had a part.
I missed some parts of life that won’t come back;
I’ve no regrets—the best is yet to come!
Copyright © 2019 Abigail Gronway – All Rights Reserved
Welcome to my series, Incremental Poetry, where each week the featured poem will be one line longer than the one I share the week before. I have no idea how long I’ll keep this up, so we’ll just have to wait and see. Thank you for stopping by.
Scansion:
Quintina
patterned after the Sestina
27-line poem comprised of five 5-line stanzas and an envoy
written in iambic pentameter
employs the repetition of end words instead of rhyme
end-word pattern is as follows:
12345
51423
35214
43152
24351
Envoy: 1/2, 3/4/5
Dark Side of the Moon 