I Never Should Have (Poetry)

I never should have
stayed at home so long
but taken the first
opportunity
to get clean away

I never should have
listened to my heart
that weak part of me
at odds with good sense
and my undoing

I never should have
married him — but then
it taught me something
about myself. It
was a hard lesson

I never should have
let myself be fooled
so often that things
would turn out all right
in the end, maybe ...

What I should have done
was go my own way
trust my instincts more
and be the person
who still waits inside