I let you down;

I can see that in

the turn of your face

and your breathless pause

that says more than

words of frustration

could ever convey.

 

But not one of us

can rewind the clock

and slide back time

to recapture

opportunities

now past and gone.

 

And in this space

of silent disgrace

that I feel about

what I should have done

and never did,

all I can respond

with is a limp ‘sorry’,

a word that carries

its own imperative

of not enough

and all too late.

 

30/11/2016