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.