The Frenchman says
“You will never be able to undo
what has happened here today.
“History is immutable.
“What happened will always have been
and will never be able to change.

“You are a slave to the events
you initiated,” the Frenchman continues,
“And everything afterwards
will simply systematically serve the sequence started when you did the deed.

“You don’t have to deny it,” the Frenchman says, “I know it to be true. “Whatever you regret,
however you feel
about every last aspect of the atrocities,
you know and I know what occurred.
You know and I know you are responsible.
You know and I know you are to blame
and you know and I know
what no one else will ever hear.”

And the Frenchman disappears
and I hope I can keep the secret
and live in peace
free of the guilt
since I don’t know the Frenchman
or have any idea
what he was talking about.

Maybe he was Belgian.