"Through the Heart" - Bahamas AI Art
©A. Derek Catalano
Deep Regret
The words spilled out, a bitter, careless stream,
A poison from a long-forgotten dream.
I didn't think, I didn't stop to weigh
The crushing force of what I had to say.
A moment's heat, a foolish, childish rage,
That now unfolds on memory's stark stage.
I see the sting, the flinch, the wounded look,
The precious trust that broke just like a book
Slammed shut and lost forever in the dust,
Replaced by hurt, and bitterness, and distrust.
I carry now the echoes of that sound,
A ghost of pain on sacred, hallowed ground.
For in my haste, I failed to recognize
The silent grief behind your tear-filled eyes.
I was a fool, so young and full of pride,
With every flaw I desperately would hide.
But hindsight's cruel, it doesn't spare the soul,
It shows the cracks that made me less than whole.
It carves the scar, a reminder of the deed,
A tangled, twisting, self-planted, thorny weed.
And yet, I know, we are but fragile clay,
We stumble through life's ever-changing day.
We're born to err, to learn, to fall, to rise,
To see the truth through new, enlightened eyes.
Our hearts are flawed, our spirits sometimes blind,
Leaving a trail of wreckage far behind.
But that's no solace, no excuse to claim
For fanning an undeserved and undeservedly painful flame.
The truth remains, a wrong was done that day,
A debt to pay in sorrow's humbling way.
So now I stand, my ego cast aside,
With nowhere left for all my shame to hide.
I offer you this fragile, whispered plea,
To look beyond the person I used to be.
I'm here to ask, with all my heart and soul,
For your forgiveness to make my spirit whole.
I deeply regret the thoughtless, cruel mistakes,
The heavy toll that my selfishness takes.
I hope that you can find it in your heart,
To give this new beginning a fresh start.
For we must grow, from what we used to be,
From shadowed self-absorption we must flee.
We must forgive, not just the ones who stray,
But our own selves who wander from the way.
And moving forward, with a gentle hand,
We all must try to love and understand.
To build a bridge where chasms used to lie,
And mend the bonds we broke beneath the sky.
For in this journey, though we may all fall,
The greatest grace is trying to stand tall.
©A. Derek Catalano/Gemini
A poison from a long-forgotten dream.
I didn't think, I didn't stop to weigh
The crushing force of what I had to say.
A moment's heat, a foolish, childish rage,
That now unfolds on memory's stark stage.
I see the sting, the flinch, the wounded look,
The precious trust that broke just like a book
Slammed shut and lost forever in the dust,
Replaced by hurt, and bitterness, and distrust.
I carry now the echoes of that sound,
A ghost of pain on sacred, hallowed ground.
For in my haste, I failed to recognize
The silent grief behind your tear-filled eyes.
I was a fool, so young and full of pride,
With every flaw I desperately would hide.
But hindsight's cruel, it doesn't spare the soul,
It shows the cracks that made me less than whole.
It carves the scar, a reminder of the deed,
A tangled, twisting, self-planted, thorny weed.
And yet, I know, we are but fragile clay,
We stumble through life's ever-changing day.
We're born to err, to learn, to fall, to rise,
To see the truth through new, enlightened eyes.
Our hearts are flawed, our spirits sometimes blind,
Leaving a trail of wreckage far behind.
But that's no solace, no excuse to claim
For fanning an undeserved and undeservedly painful flame.
The truth remains, a wrong was done that day,
A debt to pay in sorrow's humbling way.
So now I stand, my ego cast aside,
With nowhere left for all my shame to hide.
I offer you this fragile, whispered plea,
To look beyond the person I used to be.
I'm here to ask, with all my heart and soul,
For your forgiveness to make my spirit whole.
I deeply regret the thoughtless, cruel mistakes,
The heavy toll that my selfishness takes.
I hope that you can find it in your heart,
To give this new beginning a fresh start.
For we must grow, from what we used to be,
From shadowed self-absorption we must flee.
We must forgive, not just the ones who stray,
But our own selves who wander from the way.
And moving forward, with a gentle hand,
We all must try to love and understand.
To build a bridge where chasms used to lie,
And mend the bonds we broke beneath the sky.
For in this journey, though we may all fall,
The greatest grace is trying to stand tall.
©A. Derek Catalano/Gemini
