I UNDERSTAND WHERE YOU ARE COMING FROM AND I DO AGREE. IT IS VERY SAD WHEN AN INDIVIDUAL DOESN'T KNOW JESUS AS THIS IS WHERE 'FORGIVENESS OF SELF' BEGINS. ONE MUST BE ABLE TO EMBRACE 'HIS' FORGIVENESS FOR OUR TREASPASSES THROUGH THE MERCY AND GRACE OF GOD, WHICH IS ROOTED IN HIS LOVE FOR US. I HAVE FOUND TO ACHIEVE THIS WE MUST NEVER FORGET...GOD 'ALLOWS' EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN OUR LIVES. THEREFORE THERE IS ALWAYS, ALWAYS...A LESSON THAT IS LEARNED IN OUR EXPERIENCES. THUS, TO COMPLETELY FORGET OUR DARK ROADS WOULD BE A GREAT MISTAKE. FOR IT IS FROM OUR ERRORS, ESPECIALLY THE GRIEVOUS ONES, THAT WE LEARN HOW TO EXTEND FORGIVENESS AND LOVE TO OTHERS. THAT OLD CLICHE; 'BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD THERE GO I' MUST ALWAYS BE APPLIED WHEN LOOKING AT OTHERS, BUT IT WON'T BE 'IF' WE TOTALLY FORGET WHERE WE'VE COME FROM. SO THEN, FORGIVE YOURSELF, YES... REPENT AND DISCARD THE CLOAK OF 'GUILT' AND WALK IN GOD'S FORGIVENESS, BUT DO NOT 'FORGET' . USE WHAT YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH TO HELP OTHERS. BE SLOWER TO JUDGE AND TO SCORN OTHERS. BECAUSE WE SHOULD REMEMBER, ALWAYS...THERE IS A VERY THIN LINE BETWEEN WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE MIGHT HAVE BEEN. ENJOYED, RICHARD, THANK YOU FOR SHARING. LOVE, BLESSINGS AND FAITH....HIS+INSPIRATIONS

Well, my focus waned and I lost the review you asked me to adjust. But, suffice it to say, your poem had a lasting effect, as I found my self thinking of the many wonderfully constructed lines of your poem and my keyboard started to invite some results. Thus, I wrote "A Merciful Sensorial Symphony" inspired by your words. Many thanks, Richard. When one comes across a piece like yours, there's little another poet can do but feel grateful and attempt to ground the essence of the experience. Peace.

Richard, this piece exhibits a quiet, painful clarity. The dialogue you craft feels almost confessional—two voices circling the same wound, one urging release, the other clinging to regret as if it were deserved punishment. The image of regrets turned to stone and placed on shelves is powerful; it captures how easily we deal with our own burdens. And that final line, the refusal to believe in freedom, lands with heartbreaking honesty. A beautifully distilled reminder that self‑forgiveness is often the hardest forgiveness of all.

I think the best way to begin overcoming regrets is to recognize that they are holding us back and to forgive ourselves for what we did, intentional or not.

I have easily let go of missed steps all my life. I can relate them now with pride rather than regret. For I learned much from every one.

Ron