Echo Back
by Michael Doyle

My words echo back into tomorrow
A half-life that's full of sorrow
I'm often sorry for what I say
The demons inside won't have it any other way

If these were the last words I said
I wouldn't want them rolling in your head
The truth of love for you is treasurable
As proof of life, your imprint is immeasurable

Strong regret has led to my solitude
Lost within thoughts that rudely intrude
Of how I might have had better shown
The new thoughts and habits to be grown

I see the pain that you are going through
Wishing me ideal and feeling that I won't do
What kind of father raises his voice
Knowing that there is always a better choice

Don't let my brokenness serve to kill you
Instead, rise above this dismal point of view
Generational sins destroy the path of family
I wish I had served to better your nobility

Sticks and stones serve to break one's bones
But hurt half as much as the words that I own
So many times I wish I had chosen humbly
To undo my part in the hurt hearts of this family

The Bible I believe in pursues paths of construction
Why then is it easier to choose ways of destruction
It echoes back into a deepest pool of blood's regret
Missed and chosen words feel like criminal neglect

When I see how deeply this all truly matters
And see your brilliant mind angered until it shatters
And I see that while I am steps above what I lived in
It's so very hard to hold myself as unforgiven

Dear child know that if I could, I would only speak love
And pursue the righteous ways given to us from above
There are things I bite back against as I've stumbled
But my love for you will never fall heaped and crumbled

Tomorrow is a new day for me to push on to the better
And we are resilient, able to withstand stormy weather
I ask you to please know words that don't build
Aren't meant, and let it be the love that has prevailed

(c) August 17, 2024    Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved