Category Archives: Regret

Just By Living

Posted by James Browning on

I will never get hold you, kiss you or make love with you again. You’re marrying another. Your life will not be with me and your children will be with someone else.  It’s my own fault. I thought I loved someone else only to discover too late it was only you I loved all along. L.W.

…here she is,
all mine,
trying her best
to give me all she can.
How could I ever hurt her?
But I didn’t understand then.
That I could hurt somebody so badly she would never recover.
That a person can, just by living, damage another human being beyond repair.
Haruki Murakami, “South of the Border, West of the Sun”

After A While

Posted by James Browning on

My love, we tried. We did our best. Somewhere along the way we lost each other while we worked hard to build our careers. We can’t get it back and no one is to blame. We didn’t fail. Ours was a great love. We were exactly what each other needed for a time. G.D.

After a while you learn the subtle difference between
holding a hand and chaining a soul and you learn
that love doesn’t mean leaning
and company doesn’t always mean security.
And you begin to learn that kisses aren’t contracts
and presents aren’t promises
and you begin to accept your defeats
with your head up and your eyes ahead
with the grace of woman, not the grief of a child
and you learn to build all your roads on today
because tomorrow’s ground is too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.
After a while you learn that even sunshine burns
if you get too much
so you plant your own garden and decorate your own soul
instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure
you really are strong
you really do have worth
and you learn
and you learn
with every goodbye, you learn…
“After A While” by Veronica A. Shoffstall

By the Water’s Edge

Posted by James Browning on

I’m so sorry I screwed things up. I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there for you. I’m so sorry I broke your heart. I’m so sorry I left you. I’m so sorry I had to make the worst mistake of my life with you. I wish it had never happened. D.S.

Sitting by the waters edge
I now stare at a reflection
of a broken man.
A heart forever filled
with my love for you.
I cry lonesome tears
with a mind battered
and bruised by losing you.
Every day has become
so hard to bear, as I
search inside
for a reason to smile.
Jon London

Backward Glance of Regret

Posted by James Browning on

We’re friends who never should have been lovers. It’s my fault for believing fond affection between friends was the same as the romantic love between partners. I pushed. You went along. Now everything is all messed up, you’re gone and we’re not friends anymore. C.C.

There are those who pass like ships in the night,
who meet for a moment, then sail out of sight
with never a backward glance of regret,
folks we know briefly then quickly forget.
Then there are friends who sail together,
through quiet waters and stormy weather,
helping each other though joy and through strife.
And they are the kind who give meaning to life.