Cartography Poem by Richard Trembath

Have you ever made a road-map
Of your life
As it would be
The second time around?
Knowing, as you did, which forks to take,
Which to avoid.
Would it be different
To the one you've trod,
The one to which you're
Now committed,
The result of one wrong turn you made
So many years ago
When life was young?

You know you had your chance,
You can't believe you let it go,
It seems so clear now
In the cold grey light
As eventide draws near.

What would you change
If you could live your life
A second time
And with what consequence?
Where would you be?
What would surround you?
What would you miss
Of what you've created,
Which memories,
Which shining moments
In your tapestry of life?

What makes you think
You'd get it right
The second time around?
If you had the chance to
Go back to the start
With none of what you have
Or what you've done
Of who you've done it with
-- No memory of it all -
Would you give it up,
The whole of it,
And start again?