Pride and Joy

However you thought
It might have, could have,
Should, or would, have been,

Once it is, it was
As it should have been,
If only since now

It couldn’t have been
Otherwise. This is
Always true—always

Of everything, but
It’s hard to let go,
Hard to stop planning

How to ensure next
Will be better, which
Means imagining

What was as if it
Could have, might have been,
Maybe should have been

Other. This you call
Hypothetical,
The fool’s pride and joy.