Repentance is God's work, not ours. We simply confess that God's Law has had its leveling way with us. The mouth of the Lord has spoken it. The volume goes up another notch. A Word of warning.
All men are like grass and all their glory is like the flowers of the field.
We are mortal. From dust you were taken, to dust you will return. That is the fruit of our rebellion, the just wages of our sin. That's what we get for being like God instead of being the image of God. We die - like the grass that is fresh and alive in the morning, and that dries up and dies when the hot desert wind blows over it.