Deathbed Regrets

• Matt Byrnes, Grade 10
• Poetry
• 2014

I lay there, unmoving, my body twitching.
My heart racing through its final furlong.
I clutch my heart, pouring blood once before,
I’d have poured the same love for her.
Deathbeds give time for regrets,
And indeed, my soul will not rest in peace.
How could I let myself lose that chance?
I saw her right there, but let her slip away…
My eyelids flutter, my limbs feel so cold.
Colder than the floor I lie on dying.
To all my love was never seen.
The hole in my chest always there, now exposed.
Death can come at any time,
A skulking presence, striking when you don’t look.
I take one last breath, and in the dark, see your face.
And I am no more.