Conditional Comments

You have expressed complex emotions in such beautiful manner ---A brilliant poem!

I thought this was a very nice piece of poetry and that I would like to have many more pieces like this. :)

Beautiful in hindsight (pun intended :)) . I feel like I have just been taken through some seriously dazzling mental acrobatics. Lovely read.

Seamus a wonderful write. If we were able to know in advance would we open the door? ++10

excellent conditional writing on the theme of life If you factored in lies, betrayal, mistrust, Could you ever have loved me Before they became us? 10++++

Profound and thought provoking poem with beautiful scripting, if we know the future, do we choose differently.Excellent! ! full votes!

If you knew who I was now When I knew who you were then Would you forgive me before We ever became them? - - - - - - -I am just awed by your poems, their word play and depth alike. (contd) Had we known what would become of us, would we have acted the way we did.Life is too unpredictable.The beauty lies there.

If you could have counted the cost, Would you have sown the first seed? If you factored in lies, betrayal, mistrust, Could you ever have loved me Before they became us? ... great theme. It is a brilliant poem on life duly inscribed. Thanks for posting.

Deep and intimate reflection on a past relationship. The question posed, if one knows the future outcome would we choose differently? Perhaps, but then any lessons gathered would be lost. Does intense pain change behavior? Many questions posed in this softly worded yet powerful write.

a brilliantly thoughtful poem of what might have happened if the truth had been told from the start of a relationship? .........superbly penned Seamus.

Seamus, I lean into this brillant thought- provoking poem and reflect on it. What a beautiful read. I feel the poems heart wrenching tenderness .In response to your question- it's a good job we don't know. Yet it seems like the not knowing that keeps us going. More and more I see there is nothing in my life I could afford to be without. It's an awful mystery this whole business of loving. excellent poem full marks

Seamus, such a profound poem in its succinctness. You have mastered both the pen and the heart. Bravo! Mistakes Through my greatest skill Of making mistakes I have learned To now love And be loved

Written with regret in every line

Seamus O' Brian, Oh for the lessons learned from mistakes; the gift in the end is priceless. I wish that we all could see the gift we really can be to one another. Gathered in the harvest- stacked and counted the bales of our soul searing pain.so much meaning here. Wo knows how we learn and I hope we truly do.............blessings on a great poem...................Kathy

'If you gathered in the harvest— Stacked and counted the bales of our soul-searing pain, Numbered the bushels Of our flesh-scalding tears, Compacted the silos of loneliness, doubts, fears- If you could have counted the cost, Would you have sown the first seed? ' I especially loved these awesome lines, nature writes wisdom within our souls, harvested not in damp mornings, but afternoon shining or twilight transitions within lives; an exceptionally enlightening poem.

Should we readers give answers? I'd better not, 'would you forgive me before we ever became them? ' 'could you ever loved me before they ever became us? ' I see a scene of me asking the beloved another these two questions after years overlap our pristine memory, what a wonderful gift you give me Neal! It's like years ago Raymond Carver brought me the question 'what we talk about when we talk about love? ' I am very glad i can have this poem in my life, thank you Neal.

Oh Wow! ! ! What A Powerful, Powerful Heart Felt! ! ! ! ! Write! ! ! Just Wow! ! ! Excellent Write! ! ! Many, Many,10SSSSSSSSS! ! ! Thank You So Much For Sharing This! ! !

My friend, Pamela, has very good taste. I agree wholeheartedly with her opinion. And I rate her in the best three poets on PH. I have some work to do this morning but I shall certainly be back to read your other poems soon.

Oh, this poem hit me hard. This is really top notch writing, so quiet, yet more powerful than a tsunami. I think anyone who has lived a while through good and bad times, tough times, marriage, friendship, family...can relate to this. This is a special poem. I'm saving this to my favorites. I would love to share this poem on my FB poetry page. Please let me know if that would be OK. I will include a link to your page/poem....and only post with your permission. This is my poem of the year.

With the memories of the past. Nice piece of work.