Do Things Differently
DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY
Would that I could do things differently -
I would crash and lumber more
being unafraid of hurting myself
and more careful of hurting others.
I would take more things apart
so that I could find new ways
to put them back together,
and if I could not make them work
I would make them do something else entirely.
I will relax a lot more, sleep later, clean less.
I would spend the time that I saved
in better fashion, by watching clouds,
or tickling children, or making love.
I will take more, give less.
Take more trips, more chances,
more risks and I’ll take a lot more time.
I will give less weight to opinion,
give less credence to conjecture,
and give less concern for calories.
No doubt I will make more mistakes,
but I will likely make more friends
and they will enjoy my company,
because I will be barefoot, tipsy,
cheerful and sillier than I am today.
I would scratch what itches, burp when I need to,
and kiss everyone who is willing.
I would do things that scare me
just because I can.
And I would not simply write poems,
I would practice what I preach,
I would do the things I…
…excuse me, I have to go.
Shared for a January Open Link Night at DVerse Poets.
©2014 Christopher Reilley
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I enjoyed the intimate conversational tone of this poem, Chris, the outpouring of regrets. The opening lines set the tone:
ReplyDelete‘…unafraid of hurting myself
and more careful of hurting others’.
I agree with these lines:
‘I will relax a lot more, sleep later, clean less.
I would spend the time that I saved
in better fashion, by watching clouds,
or tickling children, or making love’.
And I think we should all be ‘barefoot, tipsy, cheerful and sillier’.
This is a new years resolotion that I really love... especially "watching clouds,
ReplyDeleteor tickling children, or making love."
I love everything that you listed, it sounds really candid and is sprinkled with genuine, innocent curiosity.
ReplyDeleteThe poem brought tears to my eyes.. which is rare for me in poetry. Gorgeously rendered ❤️❤️
ReplyDeleteChris I love the vision you have of the new and improved you, especially about the getting away from keyboard and actually living. Great way to trail off at the end.
ReplyDelete