The following poem, titled ‘forgive,’ is a poem I first wrote in my early teens, that I recently decided to revisit. I think in the time I’ve been away from the poem, my views on forgiveness as a whole have changed- I no longer think forgiveness is a necessity or a right, and I really wanted that viewpoint to be portrayed in the poem.

forgive


im just standing here in the rain,
small collections of molecules
sinking deep into my pores,
reminding me of could’ve-beens
and have-beens
and might’ve-beens.
all is not lost,
but all is certainly not forgiven.

im just standing by your doorstep,
trying to repent of my sins,
to purify the ground
and stop my own tyranny,
tyranny caused by you but
made by me.
all is not lost,
but all is certainly not forgiven.

im just sitting on the curb,
in some blind attempt to
make the downpour
wash away my wrong-doing,
allow salt to create equilibrium
and re-establish balance.
all is not lost,
but all is certainly not forgiven

im just sinking into the ground,
hard stones digging into my palms,
fresh blood spotting the pavement,
a reminder of my presence here
and wounds inflicted.
penance and mercy.
all is not lost, 
but all is certainly not forgiven.