People love to ponder what they would tell their younger selves,
beguiled by the misguiding belief that foreknowledge
might somehow make their lives better.
I don’t play that game, if I knew then what I know now
so much would have been missed.
Sure, some mistakes might have been avoided,
but others would have stepped up to take their place.
There would still be sorrows, would still be failures,
still be a thousand opportunities that passed me by.
And what of the joys that came only through
the unintended results of risky choices?
We would lose so much knowledge
where the experiences had were
an integral part of the knowledge’s attainment.
That knowledge now left hollow,
without meaning or context,
facts known without wisdom gained.
I never wish that I knew then what I know now,
whether it was joys or sorrows
I want those things to be a part of me
Without them I would not be who I am
I would be lesser and incomplete
Peter Kaczmarczyk was raised in New England and has lived the last 30 years in Southern Indiana. He has been writing poetry his whole life but only recently has pursued his writing seriously, coinciding with the end of his 26 year marriage. Peter’s works strive to tell short tales in simple words that are accessible to all.
Peter is always surrounded by cats, one of whom will draw blood if he spends too long writing. He accepts this as the price to be paid for pursuing his craft.
Peter has been published in numerous journals and several anthologies, and his chapbook, Distant Yet Always Heard, was published by Alien Buddha Press and is available on Amazon.
Peter is also co-creator of the Captain Janeway Statue in Bloomington, Indiana, honoring a person that while fictional was, and still is, an inspiration to thousands to pursue their dreams and believe that they can accomplish whatever they set out to do.
