“Forgive and Forget”

                         

Over time, the walls of self-defense become chinked with wear  

Overgrown by ivy, flowering each spring with climbing roses,     
The origins for brick and mortar fade in memory    
The enemy’s conniving and manipulation forgotten with each
          passing season    

Over time, the story of the their cruelty mutates     

Into a softer narrative of the human frailty found within their souls  
And the need to forgive and forget their heartless and vindictive
          natures     
Grows because I must repair my damaged spirit     

Over time, the protective barriers seem superfluous     

My internal longings to belong create false hope     
That “this time” will prove different—better     
That somehow they’ve gentled with time     

Foolish me—to pull down the walls, to retell the tale       

To desire their love   

Foolish me—to provide them opportunity, to crush me    

Under the weight of my forgiveness      

Copyright 2014 Elizabeth Abrams Chapman