-- The Value of Hindsight --

John Herlihy

There was a time when he listened,

To all the things that she did say.

There was a time when he heard,

All the things that she did not say.

A time he felt only he was listening,

Whether things were ever said nor not.

A time he felt when only he heard,

All the things that were said or not said.

There was a time when he remembered,

All the things that he freely told her.

There was a time when he wanted to forget,

All the things that he freely told her.

There was a time when he forgot,

Many of the things that he told her.

There was a time he tried to remember,

What he told her to tell her what to forget.

There was a certain kind of forgetting,

That he wanted to have stayed forgotten.

But there was a certain kind of forgetting,

Familiar forgetting he wanted to remember.

Then there were all the awful moments,

That he wished had never happened.

Along with all the beautiful moments,

That he knew truly did happen.

Remembering forgotten moments,

Will turn them into a treasure.

Forgetting certain remembered moments,

Can turn into feelings of displeasure.

The value of hindsight lies in giving,

The means to assess what we know.

How we have made best use in living,

Learn from mistakes in order to grow.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Monday 12 October 2020