Poetry by Terry Little

The Occurrence of Guilt
By Terry Little

WHAT

Guilt is a burden often carried,
Circumvention is rarely married,
It’s oppressive and tactical,
It’s truly mental and radical.

Guilt is often abusive
And emotionally intrusive,
Just like the rain,
It touches every pain.

Guilt is often mindful,
And truly insightful,
At times it can be kind,
And at times naively blind.

It doesn’t delay the truth,
It doesn’t change in a booth,
It remains objective,
To express the subjective.

Guilt is intuitive,
The blame intuned within,
Without the choice of guilt,
Hard decisions will often tilt.

WHEN

Guilt expects to be accepted,
Unexpected can be a weapon,
But you can never be prepared,
Guilt preys on those unaware.

Guilt happens free crimes,
For some it’s a sign of the times,
To change for those we love,
Or regret for those we shun.

Guilt’s fire blazes uncertainty,
Such tricks feel of infidelity,
The walls of a paradox,
Decisions are interlocked.

Guilt occurs in dreams,
It occurs amid a stream,
Guilt appears when you’re there,
It happens amid the fear.

Guilt happens when it happens
On a spur moment when you’re slackin’,
Guilt isn’t always what appears,
Especially for random tears.

WHERE

Guilt is mundane,
All can feel its reign
It happens everywhere,
Simply sitting in a chair.

It is found in emotion,
It dictates our action in motion,
It is found deep within,
Even beneath the skin.

Guilt comes from the air,
Regardless of if it is unfair,
Guilt is a mental scar,
It’ll leave the mind completely marred.

It is where no one wants to be,
In the mind it’s hard to free,
It’s where darkness exists,
Bright light screams assist.

Allowing guilt in is a lose or win,
Depending on how it looks within,
It varies between right and wrong,
Only one will remain for long.

WHY

Guilt is a necessary evil,
It knows the heart as see through,
Sifting through the rubble,
To find the ultimate trouble.

Guilt claims morality,
Reluctantly accepts immortality,
Change the direction of destiny,
For those who understand reality.

Guilt a director of action,
Equipping with what’s been lackin’,
There is shame for some,
Others care less for none.

Guilt helps to right our wrongs,
Helps to create breakup songs,
Guilt is the ultimate virtue,
Hearts are vessels to search through.

To figure out why it is,
To understand how flaws begin,
To exercise what we mean,
To make rules we truly need.

WHO

Guilt imbues the seminal,
Penetrating the impenetrable,
It taunts those who sin,
Even taunts whose who win.

Those with great intentions,
Those who fail to mention,
Those who are kind,
And those who never mind.

The one who makes hard choices
Rejecting alternative voices,
He/She/They knows the forecast
And the options that are metamorphic.

HOW

Guilt feeds decisions,
And wrongs makes deep incisions,
Rights make exceptions,
There’s no need for elections.

Guilt is truly finicky,
An undetermined enemy,
Help is needed to figure out,
It’s elusive just like a mouse.

Only time will tell,
If the conscious yells,
When it does the most,
Guilt implants its host.