Love From Regret

I sat there listening while you talked on the phone
the words escaped you nervously
in only the way that words could escape a father
I imagine they are the feelings, the realizations that arise
when you realize the long years of your life have passed
and this being is here, completely unable to relate
from two different worlds
you must find yourself filled with regret
why weren't you closer
why weren't you there more
you see the closeness, the bond; but not with you
you nervously clutch at glimmers of affection
you use that four letter word so much more often these days
as if it were your redemption
and each time it spills from you
I feel your desperation and regret
I wonder if you can see the mistakes I'm making
the deviant things I desire
the correlations
this thing you flood us with, now
a deluge after a comfortable lifetime in desert
just when we've grown to love the dry wind
I find myself wondering if it's too late