Regret

Regret

The day before,
A past so long ago,
Filled with happiness,
With victory -

A new day,
One which brings sure joy,
Brings only hollow emotions -
Victory and happiness gone.

What is victory, I asked.
To be triumphant, answers one.
To defeat the enemy, answers two.
To have as you want, answers three.

Such a being,
Victory has become.
It is not to triumph,
Not to defeat nor to want.

Victory is overcoming
The obstacles in the path of life.
There is no victory now,
For there was no obstacle to best.

Do you feel hollow, I asked.
Yes,
And yes,
And yes, they all answered back.

The innocent are gone,
All of them murdered,
Or forced to join ranks
In the name of a victory not theirs.

The innocence is gone,
So told by the depth of the eyes.
Where there was shine,
Now only a deep emptiness.

What of us remains, I asked.
Nothing, I hear.
Nothing,
Nothing, echoes amongst them.

Forever ruing the actions
Taken in the past.
No longer walking forward
To the actions in the future.

It plagued the hearts,
Shadowed the souls,
Darkened the sight,
Calloused the touch.

What are we, I asked.
True soldiers, one answered.
Nobody, two answered.
Criminals, three answered.


Doubtful, four answered.

*Note: This poem is an insert into the first part of my trilogy, See Beyond: Darkening Horizon (working title).