[Intro: gears turning, receipt printer, mechanical voice ⚙️] [Machine] Insert regret. Select offense. Receive acceptable remorse. [Verse 1: Industrial Cabaret] I built a grand machine To manufacture perfect shame. It polished every “sorry” And engraved the victim’s name. I fed it sleepless evenings, Every failure, every flaw. It printed proof that hating me Would satisfy the law. [Chorus: Synth-Rock] How sorry must I become Before the past releases me? If suffering proves goodness, I’ll be good eternally. But guilt that changes nothing Is a spotlight dressed as pain. I keep starring in repentance While the wounded wait in rain. [Verse 2: Mechanical Funk] I apologized in sonnets. I confessed in minor keys. I made my self-condemnation The emotional centerpiece. They came to name the damage. I explained how badly I felt. Once again, their wound became A story mostly about myself. [Genre Shift: Post-Hardcore ⚡] STOP MAKING YOUR SHAME THE LOUDEST THING IN THE ROOM! REMORSE IS NOT REPAIR! A TEAR IS NOT A BROOM! [Breakdown] NAME IT! FACE IT! MAKE AMENDS! CHANGE THE PATTERN! DON’T PRETEND! [Bridge: bare piano 🌧️] Perhaps the hardest apology Is quiet and complete. No plea to be forgiven. No collapse around their feet. Just truth without performance, And tomorrow lived anew. Not “Look how much I hate myself,” But “Here is what I’ll do.” [Final Chorus: Orchestral Rock] How sorry must I become? Only honest enough to change. I cannot make the past absolve me Or command their hurt to fade. I’ll dismantle the machine That made my guilt a crown. Then build a life that leaves A little less to be sorry about. [Outro: gears stopping] No receipt. No applause. Just repair.
