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In Praise of Regret
Somehow the longing we speak of, the look on the young woman's face that reveals her desperation, the way my friend gives his sadness away like a crime he can't keep from talking about, somehow this is representative of the best in us, as lovely and important as the spiky pink flowers and the hydrangeas, a condition celebratory in itself, occasion for gratitude this marvelous regret, this agony a father tries to conceal from his children that is exactly the experience to be brought up at the famous dinners of family and friends, this uncontrollable sobbing interrupting sleep, this anguish cut on the bias and chronic, it too, this delightful outcome, should be given a place at the table, this honored guest now raving among us, this fabulous sorrow, enchanting dolor, the night sweats and feverish cries, the exhaustion so like repose, this heartbreak just lifting its head, the foolish, stupefied grin of the totally bereft, sister and kin, the lost and now found (the foundered), twitch and cry, the cock-eyed consequence of happiness dashed, pale cousins weeping in shame, let us embrace you.