POEM
Seattle Reflections
A Tale of Regret, Redemption, and Renewal
A soft Seattle breeze
kissed my cheek as I skimmed
through a book
and sipped black coffee
on the balcony.
I shed tears before I penned down why.
I missed Annie, the love of my life,
but I let go back when I thought
I had it all figured out.
Five years ago,
I sabotaged our wedding.
I swore she didn’t deserve
what she said that I did deserve.
Birds chirped, and evergreen trees spread pine.
I lifted my eyes.
A deer meandered through the woods,
stopping to look around,
and then pranced away like someone
had called its name.
I closed the book
and put it on the glass table.
The sun reflected off the still river below.
The lust of fragility coursed through my veins.
I slipped my tongue
and gave permission
for deep well
of sadness to seek a lease
in the vacant, dusty rooms
in my heart that rearranged
the furniture to disguise
its true intentions.
I stood upright, stretched,
and moved to the oak rail.
I dragged people down,
or they dragged me down,
which one I didn’t know.
But the impact remained the same.
I imagined floating in the chilled river
of deconstructed ideas
that distorted memories
and paralyzed
my reflections leading
to a lifeboat or a funeral home.
Which way to go?
I scratched the surface
of plotting to turn the tables on my failures
and ask God for another chance.
Life or death was a promise,
but I needed to escape my hell
by living my life with the happiness
that resides within me.
I drown in sadness to float in happiness.
I lifted my gaze, shivering the past to waste,
and there Annie was, holding my hand
as though I deserved the forgiveness
of her embrace and soft kiss.
(© 2024 AC)
(Amazon Kindle, Spillwords, The Writers Club)
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