The Weight I Carry Poem by ashok jadhav

Guilt does not shout; it settles in the chest,
A quiet pressure never quite at rest.
It follows me through ordinary days,
Through laughter that arrives a beat too late,
Through sleep that breaks before the night is done.
I replay moments hoping to amend
What cannot now be altered by intent.
The mind rehearses words I did not say,
Acts I delayed until their hour passed.
Conscience becomes a court without appeal,
Where silence serves as verdict and as law.
Yet still, within this burden, something stirs:
The wish to live more carefully henceforth.
If guilt must weigh upon the human heart,
Let it not crush, but teach the soul to stand.