things I’d say to an ex

I like this topic. It reminds me of a poem I wrote at some point in the last year or so. Here it is:

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Love Timeline

Could I have my youth back, please?
There are boys and men I’d like to embrace.
I didn’t then because I was told that I shouldn’t.

Could I have a redo?

There are boys I wish I’d said no to,

     and one I told to go away,
     to whom I’d now say “stay.”

May I take a weapon back in time?
There’s a fella who could use a lesson or two,
     and I, more than anyone,
     can find exactly the right examples.

And I’ll take just a moment,
     to kiss that one boy on the cheek,
     before he’s taken by the flames.

And let me tell THAT young man
     that he IS worthy of his father’s legacy,
     before the water fills his lungs.

And let me whisper in that special soldier’s ear
     that he is loved and cherished,
     before he ends it with his gun.

Time, a fickle beast, refuses to yield.

I'm stuck with the choices I made,

    and the choices I was never given.