10,000 Things

10,000 things I could have done
10,000 steps that brought me here
10,000 regrets, 10,000 debts
10,000 unshed tears, 10,000 faced-down fears
10,000 decisions that couldn't be undone
10,000 times I failed, but was still the unknowing one, refusing once, twice, 10,000 times, to turn...

So fast, so fast, 10,000 ticks of the tick-tock-clock, and 10,000 sweetnesses now have gone sour, 10,000 memories no longer smile, 10,000 seeds no longer flower, I'm left with just 10,000 fires, and the bitter taste of bile.

And now... 10,000 second-guesses, 10,000 rearward glances... 10,000 tiny wounds, and 10,000 missed chances...

And in 10,000 days from now

Perhaps I will just look back and see

...10,000 reasons... to.... be...