By Carol Ehrlich
Denver Branch
I travel the back nine
in a reverie,
absorbed in the sweet reward
of nearing completion,
all the time sorry to see the game end,
weighed down by the weary knowing
of shots hit wrong —
misjudged and just plain missed —
yet buoyed by the feeling still in my muscles of
playing well when sometimes I did.
I’d like to play it over,
to make the errors disappear,
to feel the good shots
once more ring true.
I’d like to wage it like a champion
and wear the triumph in my bones.
The truth is plain, however —
Like a concert just over in a crowded hall,
like cycles of nature that never halt,
like the path of the sun,
the history is written.
It is what it is.
Do-overs are not an option.
Definitely captures the universal desire for some “mulligans” in life, as we have all wished for, while acknowledging the good shots in the game. Very nice metaphor, Carol.
Dear Carol,
I enjoyed your poem very much. Especially the lines,
I’d like to wage it like a champion
and wear the triumph in my bones.
Bravo!
This striking poem reminds us of a universal and bittersweet truth–how appropriate that it appears at the end of the year and at the threshold of a new one!
thank you for sharing your beautiful and heartfelt poem. It is beautifully written and so full of meaning.
Great poem ! Beautifully written. Philosophical but not depressing! Love it,
Thank you! It was out of the. mouth of s nonegenarian…can you tell?
Well expressed, Carol. Metaphor developed so it confronts life’s truth. Thank you.
Thanks, Lorraine. Your thoughts mean a lot to me.