Remorse

I never bribed a judge;
I never killed a bird,
yet I have broken promises
and shot a poison word.

I never robbed a bank;
I never beat a kid,
yet I have stolen joie de vivre
and trampled where it hid.

Without an inner guide
to curb the karmic debt,
an overblown “I never would”
becomes an “I regret.”

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