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There Is Still Something to Be Done

This poem reflects on attachment to life through the feeling of lingering regret. Longing for what remains undone, remorse for what was mishandled, and the enduring impulse that persists even in old age are expressed through vivid imagery. Though regret may seem like weakness, it also becomes a source of the will to live. Holding this contradiction, the poem quietly portrays a human being who continues to face forward, believing there is still something left to be done.

 

“There Is Still Something to Be Done”

 

Perhaps it is lingering regret—

like white clouds left in the blue sky,

a longing for what remains undone.

 

Perhaps it is lingering regret—

like dark clouds drifting across a gray sky,

remorse for what was mishandled.

 

Clinging desperately,

like gripping a steep rock face,

is it the strain that stiffens the whole body?

 

Pleading stubbornly,

like words that will not come out clearly,

is it the anguish of what cannot be conveyed?

 

Persisting in regret, resisting the fleeting nature of life—

even if others speak ill behind my back,

there must still be something I ought to do.

 

Persisting in regret, moving with boundless freedom—

it is in aging that a certain light comes into view,

pointing toward what still must be done.

 

In this world, regret will surely remain.

In people, regret will surely be left behind.

And so, we live with endless regret.

 

Knowing it is attachment to life,

still believing there is something yet to be done,

I keep facing forward.

 

Written on April 7, 2021.

A sudden awareness of attachment to life arose. The feeling that there is still something left to do binds one to living.

On April 17, 2026, five years later, I still find myself holding on to that same attachment.

 

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