all the difference

/ Just Barry
alejandro-benet-111557-unsplash

Photo by Alejandro Benėt on Unsplash

all the difference

On the path not taken
incomplete thoughts and wishes
pair with longing and regret
along elongated line-of-sight
shrinking to a point-of-light
as all paths do when curving
beyond known horizons
I close my eyes for vision

the grass is greener, and yet
the air is thick and toxic
reflection fails to muster depth
strangers call me pops and grandpa
ex-lovers commiserate
in much greater numbers, laughing
at flaws, triumphs, cuts and scars
revealed only to their eyes

pale winter sunset invites frost
breathing artic dusk breezes, I watch
my trail turns away from light
Orion the hunter claims the night
as he pursues the Pleiades
my hunt dovetails to warmer days
for the path not taken
is uninhabitable
***

Written for dVerse Poetics: Time and What If?, hosted by Merril D. Smith. Other poets contributed to this prompt here.

21 thoughts on “all the difference”

  2. I was swept up in the imagery. We can only imagine paths not taken. I especially like this line…”my hunt dovetails to warmer days / for the path not taken / is uninhabitable”
    Happy New Year, Barry 🙂

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    • Thank you.

      (Also… I followed you, but somehow I wasn’t following you, so I followed you twice? WordPress can be so odd at times.)

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  3. such a beautiful read, the words just perfectly balanced. I close my eyes for vision – if only we could do more of this, a moment of clarity in the chaos, oh Barry I really loved this.

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  10. You should ignore strangers calling you Pops and Grandpa….The world is full of these superficial vacuous types.Nothing wrong with grey hair , felt slippers and big voluminous boxer shorts:) Happy New Year to you and yours !

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    • Did you just call me old and fat??? Cause it sounds like you just called me old and fat. lol

      Nah, I’m kidding. I’ve been called worse. Thanks, Cressida! 🙂

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