Je Ne Regrette Rien

Photo by Hailey Moeller on Unsplash  

 "No amount of regret changes the past. No amount of anxiety changes the future. Any amount of gratitude changes the present." Ann Voskamp

My Grandmother

by Elizabeth Jennings

She kept an antique shop – or it kept her.
Among Apostle spoons and Bristol glass,
The faded silks, the heavy furniture,
She watched her own reflection in the brass
Salvers and silver bowls, as if to prove
Polish was all, there was no need of love.

And I remember how I once refused
To go out with her, since I was afraid.
It was perhaps a wish not to be used
Like antique objects. Though she never said
That she was hurt, I still could feel the guilt
Of that refusal, guessing how she felt.

Later, too frail to keep a shop, she put
All her best things in one narrow room.
The place smelt old, of things too long kept shut,
The smell of absences where shadows come
That can’t be polished. There was nothing then
To give her own reflection back again.

And when she died I felt no grief at all,
Only the guilt of what I once refused.
I walked into her room among the tall
Sideboards and cupboards – things she never used
But needed; and no finger marks were there,
Only the new dust falling through the air.

I remember my father's best friend once being interviewed on the radio. He had had an interesting life in the army with the Green Howards and, while reflecting on his past, told the interviewer that he had no regrets about anything. I remember thinking that this was a wonderful claim, and one that probably not many people could make. 

Yet, the quote above is right - regret does not change the past and, similarly, worry will not change the future. 

 'Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien' by Edith Piaf 

Click here for the lyrics in English

Writing Prompts:

• Write about any regrets you have. Set a timer for seven minutes and write without stopping.
• Write in response to the poem above. This may bring up difficult memories, so again set a timer to ensure you stop after a few minutes.
  
• Have you got anxieties about the future? Explore them in your writing.
• Make a list of all the things you are grateful for right now, in this moment. Does focusing on them help in any way?