This poem isn’t finished–time got away from me today–but I had fun playing with the senses.

If only I had known

 The weight of silence
hangs from my shoulders
 like the wet wool coat
 I wore that
 dark November day

 You stood next to me
 Tight lipped
 Droplets of rain
 Jeweling your hair

 The ground gaped open
sodden dark earth 
 bleeding into pale grass
while pouring rain 
 drummed a mournful tune
on hollow wood 

 If only I had known

 The taste of regret
 sours my mouth
 like the black coffee 
 I drank from
 a flimsy paper cup
 In the hospital 

 You slept buried 
 Under mounds 
 of sterile blankets
 hair winging across pillow

 The curtains hung open
 White moonlight
 Shining into dark room
 while monitors
 beeped the sad echo 
 of a broken heart.

 If only I had known

 The smell of missed opportunities