Question: the saddest are these what might have been?
Answer: "Maud Muller" is a poem from 1856 written by John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892). It is about a beautiful maid named Maud Muller. ... This poem contains the well-known quotation: "For of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these: 'It might have been!' "