Replay Vs Regret

by Carlos Figueroa

regrets:
those deviled
little suckers,
morsels of
mayhem,
that fester you
in a purgatory
where teeth-
grinding is pastime—
your ticket to
a nowhere
now here to
ensnare,
beartrap
like so many
grapes squashed
on the way
from vine
to wine
Replay?
Otherhandville
a verdant pasture
spongy-wet
with dew to savor,
whilst retracing
Steps that have
trod the way back,
tripping peaks
and valleys for
what’s next clues
for what to pay dues
to whom/what
do we turn to
make Progress’
Sun shine?

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New York City born and raised, tested and hardened as well, Carlos Figueroa has lived improvisationally, having learned early on that his identity as a human being—for the record—was outside the margins of conformity. He has been writing poetry seriously since college, though his efforts at getting published were not anywhere near as disciplined. This is his first publication in a long time. For the bulk of his working life, he was a member of the Secretariat of the United Nations from where he retired in October 2006.