regret

Lamps shined bright,

chatter hustled into the night.

No twitched eyebrow, no brow ridges,

he slept in serenity.

Eyes shut, he reminisced,

the past, which had moulded him,

and the future he had carved.

It had been a long journey,

a voyage of intense emotions.

On power he had thrived.

Of peace he was deprived.

With expectations he had loved.

He had hated with pride.

Humility he had despised.

With ego he was mesmerized.

Revenge he had sought with grit.

Distress he had inflicted with wit.

Attack had been his defence,

rationality for him had never made sense.

He asked his soul, had wealth overpowered respect?

Maybe…..  as it had brought in cachet.

Suddenly he felt alone, only foes he saw around.

He had made all known unknown,

from the dear had detached their own.

In the game for riches and success,

relations he had merely used as pawns.

Tonight, defeated by fate, he lay alone.

Wounded by shame and guilt,

penitence, now, he wanted to seek,

 and wash away his sins with good deeds.

But alas the clock had seized.

Dawn rose, and began a new phase.

The chatterati began to fade away.

The lamps dimmed and darkness gushed in.

Among the clanging of bells, in serenity he slept,

as the devil rang the knell.