Reprinted from Liberty Island.
Wish I Would Have Said Hi
I wish I would have said hi.
But discomfort.
At a greeting’s aftermath.
Words fail.
Awkwardness of extrication.
Certain questions.
You might ask.
Answers lacking.
Emotional stamina near empty.
Busy street.
You most likely
wouldn’t have recognized me.
Twenty five years.
Or more.
I admired you.
I was little.
You were my teacher.
Kind and helpful.
And strong.
Often reprimanded me.
Justifiably.
Warms my heart now.
How many know me now,
for as long as you do?
I decided to go back.
To say hi.
You had already gone.
Shame.
I owed it to you.
Regret.
Remorse.
I wish I would have said hi.
*
See last month’s poem from Jamie Glazov: “What a Smile Can Do”
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