Dust Motes in the Sunbeam

The kitchen window, streaked with rain and grime,
lets in a weak, late afternoon sun.
Dust motes dance in the beam, a silent chime,
reminding me of everything I've undone.

I see your face there, superimposed,
a ghost in the golden light, a faded hue.
The things I should have said, now composed,
are useless echoes, forever untrue.

We built a castle of sand, so grand and tall,
knowing the tide would eventually rise.
But I never braced for the crashing fall,
just watched with vacant, unexpecting eyes.

Remember that summer, fireflies in the air,
secrets whispered under a blanket of stars?
We swore forever, a promise beyond compare,
now just a memory, behind emotional bars.

I replay the arguments, the slammed doors,
the cutting words, sharp as shards of glass.
My pride, a fortress built on shaky floors,
prevented me from seeing the pain that would pass.

Now years have drifted, like leaves on a stream,
carrying chances far out of my reach.
I wake from the nightmare, a recurring dream,
longing for solace, a forgiving speech.

Is it too late to mend the broken thread?
To weave a new pattern, less frayed and torn?
Can forgiveness bloom from the seeds I've spread?
Or am I destined to forever mourn?

The dust motes settle, the sun starts to fade,
leaving shadows that lengthen across the floor.
A fragile hope flickers, a promise unmade,
that maybe, someday, I'll knock on your door.

Not expecting welcome, or even a smile,
just wanting to say the words left unsaid.
To acknowledge the hurt, to reconcile,
and finally lay these old ghosts to bed.

Perhaps the answer is not in your grace,
but in learning to forgive my own flawed heart.
To find beauty in the lines on my face,
and accept the role I played, right from the start.

The rain has stopped, the sky is a soft gray,
a promise of dawn in the fading light.
I’ll carry the burden, come what may,
and learn to live with the fading night.

And maybe, just maybe, one day I'll find,
peace in the quiet, a gentle release.
Leaving the regrets and the sorrow behind,
and finally, truly, find inner peace.