The ghosts of my past—
Pale shadows of choices long gone—
Still linger, haunting me today.
They whisper through the wind,

The scent of regret clinging to their breath,
Reminding me of bridges I burned,
Words left unspoken,
And chances that slipped away.

These ghosts, relentless in their torment,
Unearth memories of pain and hurt,
Their echoes sowing seeds of doubt
In the choices I now make.

Oh, how I long to banish them,
To find the strength to exorcise
Their presence from my weary mind—
To silence their whispers
And finally find peace.

I yearn to escape the shadows
Of my past and the missteps I took,
But still, I press on day by day.

For each dawn offers a quiet solace,
A chance to start anew.
And though the ghosts persist,
I am still here,
Striving to build a better life,
Defying the whispers of my past.

I walk out my front door into the tempest
The wind and the rain surround me,
The wind buffets me, just like my emotions do,
The rain pours down my face combining with my tears.

I look up at the sky and all I see are dark stormy
clouds, reflecting my inner turmoil.
The lightning flashes and the thunder rolls, like
my thoughts of just how I can escape this torment.

I slowly walk down the dark street, walking past
empty and dark homes. And think
to myself that they are just like my life.
I have one purpose in mind that,

I am going to once and for all escape this tempest.
How I wish I could find just one reason not to feel
so much pain as I do right now.
I continue on, with what I plan to be my last stroll.

I am so deep in my thoughts that I don’t realize,
that the rain and wind have begun to lessen.
That the storm clouds have begun to break up, and
that blue patches of sky are beginning to show.

As I continue walking, a patch of clouds part and
let a ray of sunshine through.
The ray of sunlight hits me, and I stop in my tracks.
It feels so warm and comforting,
 
And then I realized that the storm had broken.
Both outside and inside.
Yes, there are still clouds on the horizon,
but for now, the storm has passed.

Darkness surrounds me; no light can be seen.
Voices I hear—low and sad—
Remind me of the life I should have had.

At times, I hear only one voice;
At others, it swells into a chorus.

Desperately, I plead with these voices:
"Go away!" But my cries, my begging,
They do not heed.

What must I do to silence them,
To find peace within my restless mind?
They haunt my dreams,
They shadow my days.

Desperately, I search for meaning,
For reasons why they torment me so.
I look back upon my life—
Yes, I made mistakes,
Wrong choices, and decisions
That caused pain to myself and others.

But how do I atone? How do I move on?
Please, someone, tell me what I can do.
All I want is silence.
All I want is for these voices
To leave me alone.

I sit here, remembering my past,
pondering, how did I last?
Echoes of despair once vast,
ready to let my life pass.

In my mind, a relentless voice, whispers,
"You don't matter, you are nothing."

Haunted by the mistakes I made,
specters of regret, will they ever fade?
Yet, it is over, it's done, nothing left to be remade.

Struggling not to let it control my day,
seeking light to find a new way.
It is hard not to let the past,
cast shadows over today.

Still, I strive to find my way,
hoping for brighter days,
believing my future holds,
brighter days and lighter ways.

Here's to happier times, on the horizon,
sure to come my way.