The Color of Forgiveness

The blazing anger flowed
Red Hot
Igniting bitterness within.

The acrimony and the hurt
I felt
brought darkness to my soul.

And in that moonless midnight hour
the wind
spewed sparks into the sky
and fanned the fire hotter.

In that eager orange light
the taunting flames licked round me--
Searing me and scalding me
and laughing at my plight.

But in the stillness of that night
the Firelight
burned clarity and insight to my mind.

The cruel truth I realized:
The blaze
had power to destroy me.

And so I searched for tools
to fight the huge inferno;
but each time I tried to squelch the flames,
It seemed my foe burned sharper.

Time wore on,
and gradually
the Flames reduced to embers,
Glowing faintly ‘midst the new dawn’s light…

I thought the fight was finished.
Relieved,
I looked upon the scene…

And there my eyes beheld
Charcoal--
The battle’s only remnant.

Rains came then,
Releasing angry, hurt filled torrents,
Drenching the battered field
And cleansing the blackened muddle

Gradually, the rain reduced,
Softening…
the colors of my anger
to a gentle mizzle of remorse

Time moved on and with it,
where once had lain
a charred and empty wasteland,
new growth emerged--

And with it,
the colors of my anger melted,
slowly draining into the growth-
Creating a garden of rich-hued grass and flowers

Looking up,
the Son
burned White Light into my soul,

And I basked--
In the warmth and peace
of the perfect color of forgiveness.