APOLOGY

Harsh words I spoke to you today;
I did not count to ten.
I saw the shock deep in your eyes
As I lashed out again.

When angry, hurt, confused and torn,
Our feelings often speak
In haste derogatory language
Inflicting pain and grief.

A bleeding soul with piercing ache
Somehow cries out in rage
To try and heal the awful wounds
That gossip's tongues have made.

For with our minds each little word
We often clutch and grasp,
While computer brain works overtime
With questions that we ask.

Sometimes the answers seem so right
That we forget to deal
With individual complexities
And how the heart may feel.

I watched you as you left for work,
No smile upon your face,
And suddenly my heart was sad
And filled with emptiness.

I'm sorry for the things I said
Which caused you grief and pain.
In spite of verbal defamations,
My love remains the same.

I will not wait till you come home,
I'll call you at your work
To offer my sincere regrets
For acting like a jerk.

Copyright © 1994 Ruth Gillis

First published in the Spring 1995
issue of Omnific