Never-Never


NEVER- NEVER Marge Piercy
Missing is a pain in everyplace making a toothache out of a day. But to miss something that never was: the longest guilt the regret that comes down like a fine ash year after year is the shadow of what we did not dare. All the days that go out like neglected cigarettes, the days that dribble away. How often does love strike? We turn into ghosts loitering outside doorways we imagined entering. In the lovers' room the floor creaks, dust sifts from the ceiling, the golden bed has been hauled away by the dealer in unused dreams.

NEVER- NEVER
Marge Piercy

Missing is a pain
in everyplace
making a toothache
out of a day.
But to miss something
that never was:
the longest guilt
the regret that comes down
like a fine ash
year after year
is the shadow of what
we did not dare.
All the days that go out
like neglected cigarettes,
the days that dribble away.
How often does love strike?
We turn into ghosts
loitering outside doorways
we imagined entering.
In the lovers' room
the floor creaks,
dust sifts from the ceiling,
the golden bed has been hauled away
by the dealer
in unused dreams.

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