Note: The following poem is borrowed from an anthology of poetry entitled “The
Changing Seasons of Life”, which was written by Frederick J. Blahnik and published in 2016.
“You Can’t Go Back…..”
By Frederick J. Blahnik
And so the small-town newspaper reporter asked the grizzled old man who was living in a nursing home and celebrating his one hundredth birthday:
“What do you think about turning one hundred years old?”
No doubt expecting some flowery soliloquy or long-winded response espousing all of his gratitude for having lived so long
But the old man was taciturn to a fault and surprised her with his brief reply
Inasmuch as he expressed his whole philosophy of aging in a meager four words…..
“You can’t go back…..”
“You can’t go back…..”
What extraordinary profundity in just four words!!
He could have rambled on indefinitely about the nature of life and the invaluable lessons to be learned on a daily basis and the importance of nurturing critical relationships and the transcendence of a stalwart spiritual faith and his anticipation for advancing forward into a better, eternal place once his time on Earth ends
Yet he didn’t mention any of those things
“You can’t go back…..”
Truer words were never spoken!
“You can’t go back…..”
We can always look back…..
And think back
And wish that we had done some things differently along the way
And maybe changed or reprioritized some of our intimate relationships from past years
Changed everything, even
We always wonder about how differently things may have turned out had we only done this or done that…….done this or done that..….done this or done that…….
And yet, at the end of the day…..and at the end of a life…….
“You cannot actually go back and do things over…..”
“You can’t go back…..”
How many times in our lives have we hoped and prayed that we could just turn back the clock and relive parts of our lives and change the course of history–not world history, mind you, but just our own picayune, miserable, inconsequential little lives?
How many times have we laid awake at night commiserating over a bad decision gone awry?
How many times have we found ourselves bellyaching to our subconscious: “If only I could have a mulligan on that lousy decision I just made……”
Ain’t never gonna happen, my friend……
“You can’t go back…..”
“You can’t go back…..”
The wizened old fossil could have said anything to the newspaper reporter and, coming from the mouth of a centurion, it would have naturally sounded prescient and profound.
Yet by volition he limited himself to a succinct four words
Four words that should resonate with anyone, which is to say EVERYONE, who has ever made a poor choice in their life.
Sagacious words to live by every day of one’s earthly transit, words that you should definitely not have to age to the dizzying number of one hundred years in order to understand their sublime relevance.
Words that transcend nosy reporters’ inane questions and speak to the very essence of life itself.
Incredibly splendid words by which to live every day of our preternatural existence.
“You can’t go back…..”
No, you can NEVER go back………
The past is timeless, just as the future—That vast warehouse of worthless, unrequited dreams!—is also timeless.
Only the present comes with form and boundaries.
Only the present can be trusted.
Today is your only guarantee……and therefore your best–and only–hope when pitted against an unchangeable past and a future sans warranty……
Fred's Soapbox 