You could have saved me,
You know, if I had let you.
But I was foolish, and
Determined to be dedicated
To my own wisdom.

Yours is the one face
My memory has failed
To keep: it will not let me
Have my regret, rue the chance
I took that I should have
Left well alone. It was
A gamble; she lost heavily.

Did you know the sort of
Friend you were being?
Was the outcome the one
You hoped for or
The one you dreaded?

Perhaps I think of it as
Another life to try to
Forget that it was
Part of this one after all.

You could have saved me,
But you did not fail me.
I failed myself, and both
Of them, by putting myself
Way beyond your help.

12/29/2019

Posted on 01/17/2020
Copyright © 2024 Richard Vince