Regret Reprise

My sister wrote a sequel to my previous poem Regret -

"My dear, oh dear, the years slipped by,

Your hair is grey, your knees ache and sigh.

You have been happy, have you not, friend?

You had a wife and a child and wealth to spend.

The world was your oyster, the sky your limit,

The only trouble (of course!) was a little bee in your bonnet -

The image of a girl, though now she would be old,

The mascara on her lashes that made her look bold.

And now as your life fades,

In and out of your memory she wades.

You shake your head and chide your heart,

For being such a foolish work of art.

But my dear, oh dear, you are unaware,

To think of you, she does also dare -

Yes, when she is alone, and when she is not,

You forever warm her thoughts:

From the way you took out the thorns that could prick her,

Out of the roses that you'd give her whenever you'd bicker.

To the way you'd touch her cheek with a finger,

And just a second too long, let it linger -

She remembers it all though she acted cold,

It was just an act - a truth untold.

And so today: a lady approaches the front of your door,

Her hair is short and her dress is long,

But her boots are still scuffed and that makes your sure.

The lovely lady, she says lovely things,

The things she has been hiding all along,

You understand now why you were wrong -

To think that you didn't haunt her dreams,

(Indeed, everything is not what it seems.)

My dear, oh dear, how the years have passed,

You are at peace when you breathe your last."