! An Ardent Wish For Others Poem by Michael Shepherd
! An Ardent Wish For Others
How ardently, now, I wish for others
what I –alas too late – wish -
would have wished - for my own self,
and maybe, for my parents too:
some time in life – it would depend on you –
but not too late, too late –
to sit down together -
each parent, each child, individually –
and maybe with a few days ‘thinking time’ beforehand -
and say – you could take this in turns –
‘Ask me all the questions
which you never, until now, thought to ask...
ask me all the questions
which you never liked or dared to ask...
and I shall answer you…’
and if it goes well (as I pray it will)
you might even incorporate this
into a yearly family occasion:
done with humour and with love;
this is what I wish for you
as ardently as I would have
wished it for myself;
for this is my regret,
for myself; and perhaps, for them..
As I have lost both my parents, I now think of a million things I wish that I had asked them...and now cannot. If only.....
You make a valid point, Michael. We get so caught up in our own individual lives that often we fail to realize just how important those connecting moments are. Then we wonder why our children do the things they do - maybe because we weren't there for them as much as we could have been. I think it's a curse of the modern day world - so much to do, so little time. Often we lose track of our priorities, namely family and friends. Then we can only say......'I wish I had.......' Linda
A better thing to do on Valentines Day! - reminds me of a quote about poets - 'we make our bread from questions unasked, unsaid'
Yearly? I'd risk it daily, and hope the regularity did not devalue the benefits. Danny
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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5/1/2024 6:24:06 PM # 1.0.0.1119
The lessons in life that we learn too late should be passed on somehow, but yet it's only when they're learned directly - too late - that they're valued. Those who've still to learn them often can't 'hear' them until they're ready. Incorporating such lessons into the cycle of life is so difficult; we evolve so slowly; and steps such as this, posting wisdom in the public doman, are part of our evolution. Your wish will be realised somewhere down the line Michael for it has great merit, and this fine poem may served to aid the process. Its ardency gives your words poetic power. Regards, jim.