The past is gone,

like an amputated leg,

and nothing,

not even the most

earnest regret,

can restore it or

change it in any way.

 

And all the beating up

and recriminations

against self are never

going to do any good,

even if the phantom

feelings are there

and seem so real.

 

As for the future,

that is just chance

and speculation

or what might be,

though there nothing

wrong with a little

bit of hope.

 

But remember:

neither the past or

the present are actually

accessible or even present,

except in memory

and the conjuring

of our minds.

 

For the only time

we can really know

is in the sliding, elusive

present now.