UnForgiven

To err is human; to forgive divine.  –Alexander Pope 

There was a time when I was heard 

By using but a single word 

Now all that is past 

And my name fills only a temporary space 

Somewhere in your soul 

With contempt and nothing more. 

How fickle the years of yearning 

How joyless the past lays bare 

When all things were possible 

When your presence filled my heart 

With love and hope and beauty 

And endless possibilities. 

But I will move on without you 

I will never let your solitary judgment define me 

It casts too long a shadow 

Where there is no mercy 

And where finality is too  harsh

For the outcome you seek. 

We grant forgiveness more for ourselves 

Than for others  

For it lifts the burden from our own soul 

My heart though scarred is resilient 

My soul though weary retains its grit 

It  propels me even though my gait is slower 

And the dark blurs my vision while  

Your arrows no longer pierce my soul.  

I won’t let your judgment be a part of me. 

Your role in this world is no better no worse than mine 

The fact that you rest on your verdict 

Validates the revenge you seek, 

Find fault where you will 

I have many 

But I am still the master of my fate 

The captain of my soul 

And my journey goes on 

With or without you. 

I pray that it were different 

And I forgive you  

For any part of my indiscretion.