Forgiving

I indicated elsewhere I no nothing about poems, how to read them, write them, understand them. My daughter, though, is brighter than me (parents aren’t jealous of children). She made this one up (again, without giving away ages, say she made it in nursery). I think she mentioned that this poem is free style, or something like it.

The disbelief

The absolute horror of the Moment

When you so flippantly

Switched off the light

And my world

Turned dark.

My heart-

A shriveled autumn leaf

Crushed carelessly underfoot.

I hung still

Lifeless

Disillusioned

Like a flowering plant

Torn from its roots.

Shocked.

Betrayed the hurt,

Rage,

Shame,

Burning within me

Coursing through my veins.

I trembled

Fists clenched

Furious.

Finally,

The waves of shock

Gave way to

A flood of fury

That congealed into

A hard wall of

Icy

Resentment.

Each encounter rankled,

Festered old wounds,

Added to their weight.

It multiplied,

Snowballed,

Until a huge boulder stood

Where a pebble once lay.

I was crippled by it

My back hunched

Sagging under its weight.

And still,

It grew.

It blocked the sun

Out of my face.

Threatened to etch a frown

On all my days.

And still,

It developed.

It exhausted me

Sapped me of my vigor

Consumed my heart

Squeezed it,

Crushed it,

Pulled it taut

About to collapse

But I was blind.

Blind to your plea

For understanding

Blind to the strife

I was causing.

To the discord I was creating

Blind to the anger

The destructive forces

Consuming me

Blind to your pain

To my pain.

Yet, somewhere,

Deep within

A storm raged

An excruciating turmoil

A relentless battle

Pulled me,

And dragged me

From side to side.

When I finally conquered,

Scaled the wall,

Overcame,

The sun began to shine anew

Melting the wall between us

Transforming it into a

Flowing stream of

Calm.

I reveled in the warm

Sensation of

Smiling

Warm water swirling around,

Liberated from the grips

Of a domineering master

Named

Revenge.

I remained free

To laugh,

To live again.

Optimistic,

Relaxed,

Serene.

The birds sang.

The flowers blossomed.

And I knew

I received a gift

The gift of giving

The gift of forgiving.