The Things I Wish I'd Said

The Things I Wish I’d Said

“It’s been a while since we last talked,
How have you been my friend?”
So simple on the surface,
Yet there’s more, let’s not pretend.

To extend the olive branch to
Those from days, months, years behind
Can unearth dreadful discomfort
Otherwise quite hard to find.

There’s awkwardness inherent
To acknowledging how long
It has been since you considered
That relationship, once strong.

It feels as though it’s atrophied,
Connections had are lost.
So perhaps we’re better distant,
After all, what is the cost?

What risk is there in inaction,
In leaving the past behind?
Well, in fact there is a risk,
For life does not allow rewind.

We jog along our journeys,
Never knowing when they’ll end,
And often we take for granted
Our time to talk with that friend.

“We’ll connect at the reunion”,
“Next month I’ll give her a call”,
Or worse, in frequent cases,
“I don’t think we’ll talk at all”.

Well I know one thing for certain
When I care I send a note,
Not because that person misses me
Or must hear what I wrote.

I do it to communicate
More than “long time, no see!”.
I do it to show that I still care and
Also it’s for me.

I care about my network,
Friends and colleagues of my past,
And if I reach out to you
Then you made your impression last.

We don’t know our destination
So I’ll always clear my head
In hopes I’ll never face the burden of
The things I wish I’d said.

By Kanan R Wanha
Written 2024-01-28