Do Things Differently



DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY




Would that I could do things differently -
I would crash and lumber more
being unafraid of hurting myself
and more careful of hurting others.

I would take more things apart
so that I could find new ways
to put them back together,
and if I could not make them work
I would make them do something else entirely.

I will relax a lot more, sleep later, clean less.
I would spend the time that I saved
in better fashion, by watching clouds,
or tickling children, or making love.

I will take more, give less.
Take more trips, more chances,
more risks and I’ll take a lot more time.
I will give less weight to opinion,
give less credence to conjecture,
and give less concern for calories.

No doubt I will make more mistakes,
but I will likely make more friends
and they will enjoy my company,
because I will be barefoot, tipsy,
cheerful and sillier than I am today.

I would scratch what itches, burp when I need to,
and kiss everyone who is willing.
I would do things that scare me
just because I can.

And I would not simply write poems,
I would practice what I preach,
I would do the things I…

…excuse me, I have to go.


Shared for a January Open Link Night at DVerse Poets.



©2014 Christopher Reilley
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Comments

  1. I enjoyed the intimate conversational tone of this poem, Chris, the outpouring of regrets. The opening lines set the tone:
    ‘…unafraid of hurting myself
    and more careful of hurting others’.
    I agree with these lines:
    ‘I will relax a lot more, sleep later, clean less.
    I would spend the time that I saved
    in better fashion, by watching clouds,
    or tickling children, or making love’.
    And I think we should all be ‘barefoot, tipsy, cheerful and sillier’.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is a new years resolotion that I really love... especially "watching clouds,
    or tickling children, or making love."

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  3. I love everything that you listed, it sounds really candid and is sprinkled with genuine, innocent curiosity.

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  4. The poem brought tears to my eyes.. which is rare for me in poetry. Gorgeously rendered ❤️❤️

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  5. Chris I love the vision you have of the new and improved you, especially about the getting away from keyboard and actually living. Great way to trail off at the end.

    ReplyDelete

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