dangling threads of alternate lives

dangling threads of alternate lives:

.

from the plans that came to nothing,

to the little decisions that changed directions

.

the advice not taken

and the applications rejected,

the active choices and

the inspired leaps

.

shopping lists torn up

and wishings abandoned

.

sometimes the futures untaken

sit muttering on the sidelines

denouncing the present

as fraudulent and phony

and sometimes

they are right

.

some trains wait

in the station

until you find your way back

to the platform

.

some ships have sailed,

and already gained the horizon,

swift with the wind of regret

.

some dreams recur

and recur

until the twisting thread we follow

leads us down the winding path

to walk,

for a while,

in long anticipated grace

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