Regret opened a museum with only one exhibit per room.
In the first hung the sentence you swallowed at the train station,
lit softly, framed in the good wood.
Visitors stood before it the way you stand before the sea.
In the second room, the road not taken had been paved anyway.
It ran along the wall, smooth and shining,
and if you pressed your ear to it
you could hear a version of you laughing at a dinner you never attended.
The guide was a small, patient ghost of almost.
"Don't touch the glass," it said, "though everyone does."
At the gift shop they sold tickets to the past
priced exactly at the cost of one more day.
I left through the exit marked Now.
Outside it was raining, ordinary, unfinished,
and the rain, which had no exhibits, fell on everything
without asking what any of it might have been.
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141,656 Literary Works • 675,344 Reviews
Maybe regret isn't a place we’re meant to stay in. Maybe the hardest part is realizing that Now is the only room we can actually walk into.♡
yaho hiraaa!!! review timeeee
I like this, it kinda goes with the whole "If _______ jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?"
Even though everyone's doing it, that doesn't make it correct or right.
The whole premise of the poem is interesting to me, it's a very abstract idea that you can really play around with. I enjoyed it.
I really love this line. The rain doesn't ask for permission, it just does what it does.
Anyway, I have honors geo that I have to pay attention in, so this is all
~ yuuki the dinosoor
hehe thank youu :3 glad the rain and the suspicious ghost guide made sense to you XD
:)
Wow, this one really stayed with me 🥹 Opening with "Regret opened a museum with only one exhibit per room" is such a clever setup. It turns something abstract into a place you can actually walk through, and I was hooked right away 💛
The first room got me with the swallowed sentence hanging in good wood, lit softly. Visitors standing before it "the way you stand before the sea" is such a quiet, perfect comparison 🌊 And the second room, where the road not taken was paved anyway and you can hear a version of yourself laughing at a dinner you never attended, honestly hurt a little 😭 That detail is so specific and so human.
The little ghost of almost as the guide is my favorite touch 👻 The warning not to touch the glass "though everyone does" is so true, and tickets to the past priced at the cost of one more day is a brilliant line ✨ It says so much about how holding onto regret quietly costs us the present.
And the ending is lovely 🌧️ Leaving through the exit marked Now into ordinary, unfinished rain, with the rain not asking what anything might have been, feels like a gentle release. It's sad but peaceful, and it leaves you with a little hope. Beautifully written, thank you for sharing it 💫
Aww thank you so much!! I’m really glad you enjoyed it, especially the ending hehe <3