Regrets Of My Life Poem by RIC BASTASA

i have not passed the paths that you have
taken, those that please the skin of your feet,
i never for once, did not pass through them,
i never heard the laughter of the vagabonds,
danced with the gypsies, made love with the
buxom girls, listened to the guitars strummed
by singing men under the golden moon,
by the side of the river, with the coolness of the
trees, the spreading grasses as pillows
of the happy nights.

i regret taking my journey alone, the paths winding,
the climb too steep, the mountains too high,
the cliffs too dangerous, my nights had been
sleepless, the winds too harsh, my life too lonely,
for such a young age, the years should have been
spent frolicking in the woods, swimming in the river,
sailing the seas, conquering the fears, clearing the
shorelines, taking control of what what was there before.

i regret shaping my face to those frowning models.
i regret not having sung my favorite songs under the rain.
i regret not wasting my life to the bitterness of goodbyes.
i regret living a life of abundance and yet empty.
My spirit sighs, my hands not holding for something that must last.
My heart still thirsts, my mind still hungers.