Other Poem by Morgan Michaels

'Round the corner, down the block
catch it, quick,
that curious life that flits ahead
that might have been yours-
the one you might have lived
did this one not suit better-

were you not You.
Follow its hollow footfall
down the street, to the alley
that dog-legs to the river
through the once-nice neighborhood-
hurry, it's slipping ahead:

the life you can neither quite
capture nor shake-
that might have fattened
as your heart grew thin,
primped as your soul grew bare,
The life of un-knowing,

that, expecting you,
grew tired of waiting,
ordered, ate and went off alone
that would have left you
stopped in the dark atop a busted Ferris wheel
your car creaking gently.

When you catch it, backslap it
say it's looking well
call it all for the better.
Invite it back for a drop.
Say you agree with its compromise.
Better weighed by Regret,

apologize. Explain, with a grin
how Better must always, always win.
over its thrifty counterpart.
Be of good cheer.
Wish it well and send it back
off into the dark.