Hindsight is a joyless thing

Hindsight is life's lowlight,

a joyless world of what-ifs, if-onlys and whys.

You could have done this, you should have done that,

it always seems a good idea at the time.

Even if it's not a crime,

hindsight hinders and gives birth to regret,

citing malignant memories you'd rather forget,

and puncturing even the thickest of skin.

With a patronising, gleeful grin,

hindsight is the concept of I told you so.

Tossing instinct out of sympathy's window,

inflicting confession and sadness too.

But what can we do to combat

this impenetrable enemy of common sense. 

We're hapless, hopeless and helpless

because hindsight is not in the future tense.