That incomplete kiss. An unspoken longing. The wish that never found words of expression. Memories and dreams that never merged into reality. Those are the things of regret. Those are the passions buried under what could have been, what should have been.
We must find satisfaction in what is, but we must understand what could have been. Unmet dreams, wishes, hopes, and desires are what build the tension in our lives and keep it there.
And what of those unfulfilled fantasies, then? The only answer is to live them before the flame drinks in every bit of available oxygen; for the dream to consume the flesh before the flesh consumes its fuel.
You’re welcome John. Yes, Alan Bates was a wonderful actor! Who could forget his actuations in “Zorbra the Greek”, or “Gosford Park”.
An though the video is for Switzerland Bank (could find any other), the meaning of the poem is not lost for that.
Thank you, Trish, for the comment and for the video. I have always liked ‘The Road Not Taken’ and this reading by Alan Bates was excellent. Alan Bates has been among my favorite actors, ever since I saw him in ‘The Shout’ with Susannah York.
John, your thoughts brought to mind Robert Frost’s poem ‘The Road Not Taken’, that speaks of indecision and boldness of decision intermittent in our lives.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzUm0wqhE7E