The Little Sparrow

(INSPIRED IN PART BY A SONG BY THE GREAT FRENCH 'SOUL SINGER', EDITH PIAF) Should we praise the chanteuse who sang "I regret nothing"? Was she a saint or a sociopath? Did she forget the peccadilloes, the slights, the insults and harsh words we are so prone to? I regret so much, so very, very much: the chanced shaking of another's heart, the deafness to her tears, the blindness to her unsung lamentations-- too much a coward to love, I would run, run away, even jumping an ocean to flee what was between her and me.... Now, aging, I regret I cannot make amends to those lost loves. I cannot say, "I am sorry, I was weak, in fear of your love-- forgive me... forgive me."