I Passed Myself Today

By Liz Larrabee

Today I passed myself
on the way back to my youth.
Foolishly retracing
the footsteps of my failures
I braved the muck and mire
of mid-life misadventure
to avert despair by the experience
of having already been there--
blinded by passion
when I should have known better.
How many wrongs does it take
finally to see
from a vantage point too late--
Today may be
the best of all possible endings.