Regrets

I made bad choices in my life

Most of them I regret…

Gasping, I suck some fresh air,

Replacing my last cigarette.

I no longer push in the lighter,

The second I enter my car…

I reach for the Tic Tac container

Though mints don’t travel as far.

Decades later, just driving,

Still not smoking cigarettes,

Osteoporosis, COPD, fragile skin…

I am am the textbook of regrets.  

Celebrating life meant a party

With friends, we all stayed up late;

Now alone with an inhaler,

I try not to cough or suffocate.