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–
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time . . .
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–
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smiled
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everything
rhymed . . .
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smiled
.
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everything
rhymed . . .
–
–
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.
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smiled
.
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.
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rhymed . . .
–
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decide . . .
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–
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once
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a
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a
time . . .
–
–
–
.
.
.
when
it
.
w
a
s
.
almost
mine.
Reflection: This was a melancholy-themed poem that I wrote back in June of 2022 where the contemplator looks back on a once-in-a-lifetime experience, romance, success, or opportunity where he could have gotten exactly what he or she wanted at the time but didn’t for whatever reason and is now taunted and haunted by the memory.
I played the wonderful song “Could It Be Magic” by Barry Manilow, and the poem pretty much wrote itself from that (playing the song repeatedly on low volume to create the “moodset” for the poem). It was written fairly quickly – like a half an hour or so. I didn’t feel the need to continue reflecting on it and tweaking the words like I usually do. It just felt complete, so I immediately published it. If you listen to the song at low volume while reading this poem, you might better get the “feel” of it.