The Paper Sailboat

Regret has many meanings, and this time I feel it strong 

For "love" can be the right word, and yet so very wrong. 

I've kept all boats tethered, left none to sail away 

Kept all the little memories, for when the world turns gray. 

I'd have loved to know him better, but we never got the time

So when I walk by him I take a snapshot of his smile in my mind.

I thought I saw a spark, a glimmer in his eye

But it could have been a false light that led my thoughts awry.

The time we spent was short; all chance has passed me by

I've written him this modern sonnet; I'm awaiting no reply. 

So when I tell him, when he leaves, I bear my dignity. 

If he didn't know, I pity him, and if he did, I pity me. 

This dramatic declaration reflects things that did impede

Because "love" is the shortest poem ever written, and the one that takes the longest to read. 

GertietheGremlin

VT

16 years old

More by GertietheGremlin

  • Escape

    With the curtains thrown wide 

    we see the world gray 

    and we know it's the fault of our own 

     

    Spent far too long 

    bearing crown, sword, and shield 

  • Pen Pal

    I write in pen

    to get comfortable with my mistakes

    to catch all my thoughts

    scatterbrained

    and fleeting

    pens scratch the itch to write

    better than any graphite

    the use of ink before pencils 

  • Where Life Begins

    I never thought I'd be 16

    nor thought the grass would still be green.

    At 5 I met my oldest friends

    who I still talk to now and then.

    At 6 and 7, all through 10

    Nostalgic blurs remain of them.