A Salut to Regret

It is said that people learn from their mistakes,

in my time with you I can certainly attest to this.

Being with you was like drowning in a sea of black tar,

clinging to my skin as I struggled in vain,

like a poison which inched its way through my body at the rate of molasses,

like an open wound which could never heal no matter how much time had passed,

a room so dark that when I put my hands to my face I could no longer see them,

a frozen tundra which stripped the feeling from my skin and soul.

Being with you allowed a tiredness to seepe into my bones and caused them to ache,

like trying to push a rock up a hill, like trying to turn water into wine, like trying to plant Chrysanthemums in the Sahara Desert.

It is as if a hand, your hand, reached into my body and squeezed anything and everything within its reach, milking emotions out of me like a milkmaid,

rearranging the furniture in my soul like an interior designer,

Creating false memories and images like a painter.

The day we went our separate ways,

it was like the tingling feeling of having Pop Rocks on my tongue,

it was like the scent of fresh baked goods,

it was like hearing unadulterated laughter,

it was like seeing the stars on a cloudless night.

You were my biggest mistake; the regret I feel may never truly subside;

but you were also my biggest lesson and for that I thank you.