A door closed, a path not walked.
A world of opportunities and people wasted.
A universe of planets and stars lost forever.
Never will I know where it lead to.

I could only wonder what would have happened.
I could only feel sadness for what is not.
I could never measure what has been lost.
Never will I know how my life would have changed.

It is the decisions that we take that close those doors.
It is the unmeasured and unpredicted reactions that throw away the key.
It is the life that never was and never will be.
Never will I know the pain of what has been foregone.

A page not read has been used to feed the chimney fire.
A chapter has ended without ever starting.
A book has been read without being written.
Never will I know the agony of what has not been read.

There is no time for agony or pain as these will never come.
There is only wonder and the chance to follow open doors.
There is only time to rejoyce in the adventure of other paths.
Because these are my only certain pains and joys.

jalc 8/26/03