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Open Poetry #8
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Chances Not Taken
| Open Poetry #8 |
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Chances Not Taken |
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Jeffrey Carter
since 2000-04-08
Posts 2367State of constant confusion! 
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Chances Not Taken If tomorrow should be my last I would die a happy man Knowing that I had the chance to walk with you upon this land I never had occasion to taste your kiss or feel your sweet caress Always walked in the shadows you'd cast and for that I was truly blessed My heart skipped a beat as I wondered if you'd give me your hand But, alas, I was too late you'd made other plans Just to witness the love you'd found was enough to bring a tear Even if it meant I'd never hold you was smiling ear to ear For you see, for your happiness was all I ever prayed Even when it turned my life inside out and made it dark and frayed So, the only regret I would have upon that journey to my grave Is the chance I might have had if I had been more brave All my love, Jeffrey I lie awake in a world filled with dreams, but dreams can be so real when you don't know you're asleep |
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| © Copyright 2000 Jeffrey D. Carter - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Kit McCallum
Administrator
Member Laureate
since 2000-04-30
Posts 14774Ontario, Canada |
Oh Jeffrey! Lost chances, lost opportunites ... the "if onlys" of life. You've summed this up beautifully in this wonderful heartfelt poem! Best wishes, /Kit |
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brian madden Member Elite
since 2000-05-06
Posts 4374ireland |
Sometimes things happen for a reason maybe it was better that you loved from a far, maybe not. Still no point in looking back. At least you had a wonderful friendship.# A beautiful poem. Jeff, well written enjoyed this one a lot. ------------------------ "Take nothing but pictures. Leave nothing but footprints. Kill nothing but time". Baltimore Grotto "To be nobody-but-yourself-in a world which is doing its best night and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting." E.E Cummings. Faster- manic street preachers I am an architect, they call me a butcher I am a pioneer, they call me primitive I am purity, they call me perverted Holding you but I only miss these things when they leave I am idiot drug hive, the virgin, the tattered and the torn Life is for the cold made warm and they are just lizards Self-disgust is self-obsession honey and I do as I please A morality obedient, only to the cleansed repented *I am stronger than Mensa, Miller and Mailer I spat out Plath and Pinter I am all the things that you regret A truth that washes that learnt how to spell The first time you see yourself naked you cry Soft skin now acne, foul breath, so broken He loves me truly this mute solitude I'm draining I know I believe in othing but it is my nothing Sleep can't hide the thoughts splitting through my mind Shadows aren't clean, false mirrors too many people awake If you stand up like a nail then you will be knocked down I've been too honest with myself I should have lied like everybody else * chorus So damn easy to cave in, man kills everything (x4) ----- |
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Honeybee Member Ascendant
since 1999-12-26
Posts 5372Ontario, CANADA |
Well expressed my friend. Some of the most saddest words in the english language are "if only" "what could have been" "Had I only" and "I regret." Believe me I know all too well the empty feeling of regret and having to let go. A beautifully written bittersweet poem. I only hope that someday you will be able to get that chance again, to no longer regret. Take care, Melissa Honeybee |
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Rosebud1229 Senior Member
since 2000-04-05
Posts 1813North Carolina |
very endearing and so touching, but I agree that sometimes things do happen for a reason. |
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CocoBaci Member Elite
since 2000-05-06
Posts 3043 |
Oh, this one brought a tear to my eye. Coco |
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Lorraine Nisbet Member
since 2000-05-18
Posts 218Jersey City, NJ USA |
Jeffrey~ Beautifully, beautifully written!! ~Lorraine A great poet is nothing more....than a discovered amateur |
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Marge Tindal
since 1999-11-06
Posts 42384Florida's Foreverly Shores |
Jeffrey~ I am drawn to this one, as it is written beautifully from the heart. What a treasure you have penned. The fact that you remind the reader - 'for your happiness was all I ever prayed' makes this memorable. Enjoyed muchly. ~*Marge*~ ~*The pen of the poet never runs out of ink, as long as we breathe.*~ [email protected] |
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Tennessee Angel Senior Member
since 2000-06-03
Posts 661Tennessee |
Beautifully written!! It's always sad to think of the 'could have beens'. Thank you for a beautiful poem. "That man has shown himself great who has never grieved in evil days and never bewailed his destiny." --Seneca |
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Butterflies_dont_cry Member Elite
since 2000-03-06
Posts 3733Michigan |
Jeffrey* This is so beautifully written!! I Loved it!!! Thank you so much for sharing this gift of weave with all of us  |
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Janet Marie Member Laureate
since 2000-01-22
Posts 18554 |
wonderful writing here Jeff!!!! a very strong poem from the place in our hearts that truly knows no regrets and has the grace of unselfish and undying love... a rare gift. your on fire poetically these days my friend  later jeff gator jm And it's good that I'm not angry, I just need to get over, I'm not angry, anymore Cry when you cry, run when you run, love when you love, represent the ashes that you leave behind ~MB20~ "What the caterpillar calls the end ... The world calls a butterfly" ~Lao Tze Tao~ ~Butterflies are meant to be free~ |
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Lone Wolf Member Ascendant
since 2000-03-16
Posts 5842Lansing, MI USA |
Jeffrey, Excellent job my friend!!!! This is wonderful...really. It takes a big person to let go of another to make them happy. Just so you know, this is my new favorite!! Lone Wolf Friends are friend forever if the Lord's the Lord of them and a friend will not say never cause the welcome will not end. --Michael W. Smith |
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SpitFire Member Elite
since 2000-04-19
Posts 2396 |
~Jeffrey,...this piece exposes your huge heart. Oh it's a wonderfully expressed piece. So well written and touching too. Take care. *Peace. |
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tracie66 Member Elite
since 2000-01-18
Posts 4713Australia |
Oh Jeffrey what a beautiful heart you have, you have not let a missed chance make you bitter but you are still happy for this person. Love your soul...Tracie~ Love is the life of the soul... It is the harmony of the universe |
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katherine Member
since 2000-06-10
Posts 365Canberra Australia |
this poem is beauty at it's best. |
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sarahC Member
since 2000-06-07
Posts 84Michigan |
Great poem...truely heartfelt....lost oppurtunities....feelings never shared...I know what you are trying to express here...Thank you... |
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First__Knight Senior Member
since 1999-11-08
Posts 678 |
Oh I have lived this myself. Loved someone from afar. She was my dream...and I only a shadow. I share inside what you feel in this writing. I enjoyed this very much as it is very well written and heart felt...maybe a little to much. Best wishes It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, a day to love someone, but it takes a lifetime to forget someone. |
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ethome Member Patricius
since 2000-05-14
Posts 11858New Brunswick Canada |
Beautiful poem. I love the mood you've captured. Everyone can relate to this I'm sure. |
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Jeffrey Carter
since 2000-04-08
Posts 2367State of constant confusion! |
WOW!!!! You guys sure know how to put a smile on a persons face. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. BTW...Jan, Thank you for the wonderful reply. My muse has certainly been working overtime as of late I think she's addicted to Ny-Quil....rofl All my love, Jeffrey I lie awake in a world filled with dreams, but dreams can be so real when you don't know you're asleep |
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ESP Member Elite
since 2000-01-25
Posts 2556Floating gently on a cloud.... |
Jeffrey, this is great!!! To be totally unselfish is a virtue held by not too many people. You express your unselfish attitude wonderfully. Love and hugs, Lizzie  "Poetry is the true expression of my soul, it is my ultimate means of communication. It is my rainbow of delight." |
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Aimster Member Elite
since 2000-02-19
Posts 4297Charlotte, NC |
Jeff~ this was awesome! you have expressed your hearts feelings poignantly and beautifully. the "what if's" of life will drive you crazy. but this has a refreshing style about it. i enjoyed reading it very much! take care. amy "Don't be dismayed at goodbyes. A farewell is before you can meet again. And meeting again after a moment or a lifetime is certain for those who are friends." "Fate exists but it can only take you so far, Because once you're there It's up to you to make it happen." |
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Deb Lynne Member
since 1999-08-19
Posts 180Where blue skies meet blue ocean |
Haven't ever read any of your poems & I'm glad this was the first one I found! Been away too long! This is so touching....keep it up! |
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Jeffrey Carter
since 2000-04-08
Posts 2367State of constant confusion! |
Let me see if I can reply to this now that I am not under the influence of Ny-Quil LOL Fortunately for me this isn't a true story I was listening to an old George Jones record "He Stopped Loving Her Today" and the thought crossed my mind to write the story from a slightly different point of view. For those of you who don't know the song I am speaking of (you been under a rock somewhere? LOL) It is a very sad tale in which he is singing about a man who was in love with a woman he couldn't have and he never got over her. There's one line in the song that brings a tear to my eye every time I hear it... "First time I'd seen him smile in years" This was when he was in his coffin!! Anyway, Thank you all for the wonderful replies. All my love, Jeffrey I lie awake in a world filled with dreams, but dreams can be so real when you don't know you're asleep |
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hoot_owl_rn Member Patricius
since 1999-07-05
Posts 10750Glen Hope, PA USA |
Jeffery...I have to rate this amoung my favorites from you. Absolutely lovely, well written |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
Oh Jeff, this is a well done piece, you left me with tears...as I thought about the young man I turned down to be with whom I thought was Mr. Right and who was so very Mr. Wrong...this brought back tender memories and I thank you for this walk down memory lane... Sunshine ~~~Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. Helen Keller ~~~ |
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Sudhir Iyer Member Ascendant
since 2000-04-26
Posts 6943Mumbai, India : now in Belgium |
Jeffery, You have me stunned and all eyes popped out.... What a great piece man, what a great piece! The ending: So, the only regret I would have upon that journey to my grave Is the chance I might have had if I had been more brave could this have been ever better? Take care, my friend, Many regards, sudhir. |
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Trew Member
since 2000-06-10
Posts 365Ottawa, Canada |
Where have I been that I missed this one? What an incredible look out of 'The Possum's" eyes. Just a portrait of the deepest love. Wow! Another stunner! Trew. I have been to see the world. Tasted life at every turn. And all the time your face came back to haunt me. -Chris DeBurgh |
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Irish Rose Member Patricius
since 2000-04-06
Posts 10263 |
THIS WAS OUTSTANDING, JEFFREY!!!! Kathleen "How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. I love thee to the depth and breadth and height My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight For the ends of Being and ideal Grace." Elizabeth Barrett Browning |
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