(Sometimes it is better to be straightforward about your feelings. Sometimes it proves best to have kept your mouth shut and trapped that heartbeat in. A poem I made some 4 years ago.)

The view conspires.
Cool breeze wraps the night;
Table-setting suppresses formality;
Waves whisper comfort;
Lamps dim monotony;
Candle dazzles disruptions.

I could have…but I didn’t.

Minutes back:
Steering wheel held my hands;
Controls guided my ignorance;
Pedals drove me on;
Road danced in the tune of bosa.
For the first time:
It wasn’t mine, but fate made me master.

I could have…but I didn’t.

Amidst soft sparkles of giggles;
At every prodding of the knife;
At every wink of the spoon;
At every wave of the fork;
At every reminder of the flicker,
Words paint a masterpiece on a canvass of blue.

I could have…but I didn’t.

Table napkins share notes;
Plates dish up and out experiences past;
Moment picks up momentum from the same bowl;
Yet tabletop pulls my eyes to it;
Water goblet leaves me reserved;
Dessert pretends to steal my thoughts.

I could have…but I didn’t.

An island behind you wins me over;
My glimpses calculated;
My speech paced;
My advice contradicts.
Outrigger echoes a hint: “All aboard!”
Changing temperature pulls me back.

I could have…but I didn’t.

Bill arrives; attests to what could have.
Wallet opens; affirms what didn’t.
Crispy two snuggle in the register.
A hundred eighty-two decide to stay.
“I hope you had a great time.
Visit us again.”

Regrets? None.

I didn’t, for more of what I could have.