Lest We Regret Poem, by Katarells, at My poetic side

Perhaps it is foolish not to regret.
To look back at old photographs
And notice the gaps in my yellowing teeth
And the spots on my skin.
To read my old messages
And be ashamed of the plastic words and smiles.
Shouldn't I remember my younger days and push them away?
Would I be wrong to say without it I am freer to grow?

Yet I refuse to participate in my own lament because I was never lame,
Though I sometimes think myself strange I'm glad that I was.
Not because it made me myself today
But that I was happy in my rarity.
If I was glad once then I will be glad today.
I will only regret my mistakes
But change is not one of them.

Author: Katarells ( Offline)
Published: June 21st, 2022 17:23
Comment from author about the poem: I'm still a teenager. What I've noticed is that I grow so much faster than I did before I hit puberty - not physically, but mentally. I think of what I was like two years ago, and I'm embarrassed to think that I was the way I was. But, lately I've been trying to embrace all aspects of myself, though I don't care much about the "it made me into who I am today" reason to do it. I'd prefer to focus on how I shouldn't shame myself for being happy. I'm happy that I was being myself and 'cringe' rather than changing to be normal. This poem is me reclaiming myself, and refusing to be ashamed of the stage before I grew up. I believe that growing up isn't leaving your younger self behind, it's just taking it with you as you find a new person to be. That way, you'll always have yourself to fall back on. I titled it 'Lest We Regret' as a reference to 'Lest We Forget', which is the 'main phrase' for Remembrance day. It's all about remembering people who have given themselves for a better world. My reason for this is that this poem reminds me that I don't need to be embarrassed about how I used to be, and how I will see my current self in the future (hence the 'regret'). But it also reminds me to thank my past self for getting me this far, and to remember the happiness that my supposedly 'cringey' self brought me (hence the reference to 'forget'). It's not entirely finished, really, from a literary standpoint it could be better! Although, that's not actually the point of it, so I think it's fine. From Katarells.
Category: Unclassified
Views: 11