L’Esprit de l’Escalier

We argue this, we argue that,
we turn and walk away
and afterwards we both regret
the words we failed to say

the arguments which spring to mind
in futile retrospect
the killer points which would have made
definitive impact –

though could it be, alone in Hell,
and conscious why we burn
we’ll kick ourselves we didn’t pause
upon the steps, and turn

back to one another, then
once more face-to-face
forgive the said and the unsaid
and silently embrace?

Tom Vaughan

If you have any thoughts on this poem, Tom Vaughan would be pleased to hear them.