My Day 22 poem is my response to the NaPoWriMo.net prompt, which is to ‘write a poem that invokes a specific object as a symbol of a particular time, era, or place.’

I’m not in the habit of keeping keepsakes
the way I used to do

Sometimes remnants of the past
have to be discarded
in order to leave the past behind

I haven’t left a clean slate—
memories and the occasional regret
send me down rabbit holes
when dates align and I begin to wonder
about what might have been

But I never get that far, not really—
choices were made
and their consequences followed

The might-have-beens are a subject
for poems and late-night soundtracks
and a certain melancholy that comes
with mid-summer rains

Without artefacts, they cannot survive
despite my best efforts

(22 April 2021)

Wishes sometimes have consequences is available to order from your favorite local bookstore.

IndieBound search: https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=wishes+sometimes+have+consequences

If they can’t get it for you, you can always find it on Amazon:
Hardcover: https://smile.amazon.com/Wishes-Sometimes-Consequences-Kevin-OConner/dp/0998878154/
Paperback: https://smile.amazon.com/Wishes-Sometimes-Consequences-Kevin-OConner/dp/0998878162/

Information about my other books can be found here.