Forgiveness

For neglecting the asparagus
until they wilted, I forgive you;
for spending three hours snuggled
on the couch last night
watching “Jane Eyre”, I forgive you

I forgive you for not calling your
cousin on his birthday,
for posting a poem mediocre at best,
for not loading the dishwasher before bed

All those evenings you had too
much wine, or ate ice cream
after dinner, I forgive you and
I even forgive you for trying
new recipes that fail

I forgive you when you speak
before thinking, when you don’t
floss your teeth, when you avoid
your sister’s talk about how heaven
can be reached only after death

I forgive you, maybe forgive you
too much, maybe I should make you
feel more guilt, tell you to change your ways,
to be more generous and loving

But that takes so much energy
away from loving myself, being
gentle with myself, which is the start
of loving others and being forgiving

So, I forgive because
carrying animosity is wasted energy;
even animosity toward one’s self;
instead, I’ll use that energy
to create open spaces
where love can reverberate

This poem was inspired by the poem, “Phase One” by Dilruba Ahmed and last stanza inspired by “Nothing Is Truly Original” by Chelan Harkin.

Photo by Jarmoluk courtesy of pixabay.com

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