Reflections of Regret

A flickering bulb hums a low tune,

my face glows in the bathroom’s gloom,

I catch my eyes, a sharp-angled stare,

so many secrets I’m stripped bare.

Conversations twist like vine in the air,

a misstep blooms into a flower of despair,

reminders flutter, echoes of each wrong,

a melody played, haunting and long.

I think of the words that cut like glass,

each sentence slithering, a truth to amass,

my heart clenched tight, heavy in the light,

that evening’s chatter haunts me each night.

As I turn away from the mirrored lies,

my reflection knows where my shame lies,

it settles deep, heavy like ash,

a weight I wear like a bruising sash.