By Mark A. Leon

How many of us fight off the tears of regret?
Wish for one more moment
One last hug
A single sentence
A proper goodbye

How often do the “I Love Yous” get lost in the silence
The hugs we almost had
The meaningful words held back for another time

To often, another time is never found
Lost in a fog
Disappearing leaving one behind

Fear is a silent weapon
Without edges, without the ability to pierce, but so powerful to bleed the heart

Fear of the unknown, unloved, uncertain perils of happiness
A comedic tragedy so may bear witness

We are victims of our own quiet dialogue
The proclamation never to be uttered
The declaration silenced in the soul
Those words that would have changed everything

Now they lay dormant in the soul of a younger self
Forever frozen until the last breath

What might have been and all those other songs that introduce the tears of regret

Just one gesture to alter a life unfulfilled
Just one sentence to welcome a union of two as one
Just one look of acceptance to open the heart

I guess not
As I follow the stream of the tears of regret I hear his laughter