The Zen of Forgiveness by auntietk

Writers • Realism • posted on Mar 19, 2009

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No AI - This artwork was created entirely by hand or with traditional digital tools.

Description

The Zen of Forgiveness Thinking about forgiveness Once more The topic comes back And back again Fluid Dynamic New things to consider Every situation different So there I was: Focused Intent Paying attention Working it through But remembering To have fun Asked a question Just checking Answer came back Totally unexpected! Like a soap bubble In the sun The whole thing Just popped And after a moment Of disbelief And a bit of shock The humor of the thing Hit me all at once Zen laugh The Universe playing tricks Forgiveness happened In the blink of an eye There was no effort No right or wrong Just that place Where perspective Meets the present Grace received Becomes grace returned And the circle continues Apology accepted Is just a formality I forgave you in the moment Empty-handed salvation With no strings Regardless of the result The fact that you cared About the outcome As much as you did Has not escaped me It means the world And I thank you .......... This is the third in what has become a trilogy of poetry on the topic of forgiveness. The poems each represent something quite different, and the question of forgiveness was answered in vastly different ways each time. My exploration of the topic continues ... there may or may not be more later. (If so, I guess it would be the fourth in the trilogy: like Douglas Adams, but not as funny.) :) The first poem was HANGING ON The second was POLES APART Many thanks to Bill (bmac62) for his willingness to discuss the topic of forgiveness with me. He isn't the inspiration for any of these poems, so don't go asking him what he did - he doesn't even know the stories behind the poems! :) But his gracious and open communication on this slippery subject has been instrumental in allowing me to solidify some of the things I've been thinking about. Thank you, my friend! .......... Title page created in ArtRage and Photoshop Font is Caeldera .......... DON'T FORGET TO VOTE! The Writer's Challenge/Contest, Alone in the Dark is now closed, and voting ends Friday, March 20th at noon, Renderosity time. Follow the link, scroll to the bottom of the page, and read the submissions! I bet there will be at least one or two that you REALLY like! :) When you find the right one, click the button at the bottom of that submission to vote for it. Enjoy!

Comments (21)

Fred255

7:55PM | Thu, 19 March 2009

That's deep and so beautifully written.

Faemike55

8:04PM | Thu, 19 March 2009

Very interesting and thought-provoking words

nongo

8:48PM | Thu, 19 March 2009

Are you sure you want to be an accountant??? As far as I can tell you've missed your calling... a writer is what you should be!!!! Your insights and the way you put together your thoughts ~~~ really work, and are profound, and you should pursue...this wonderful gift!!!!!!! thanks... Akemi ;-)

jocko500

9:12PM | Thu, 19 March 2009

real cool stuff

beachzz

9:35PM | Thu, 19 March 2009

Grace received Grace returned-- timeless words and words to live by; I need to remember, and practice them. This touches me in unexpected ways.

hipps13

9:44PM | Thu, 19 March 2009

wonderful work, Tara May so much thought into this and so much more thanks for sharing warm hug and love, Linda Kaye

LovelyPoetess

11:15PM | Thu, 19 March 2009

:::stands up and claps::: Bravo!!

DLA

11:53PM | Thu, 19 March 2009

ended up reading all three poems,Great works/words, touched me, Thank you.

durleybeachbum

3:21AM | Fri, 20 March 2009

Astonishingly clear!

bmac62

3:27AM | Fri, 20 March 2009

Ahhh, positive and refreshing. Well done. Love your style. You have the ability to say so much with so few words. I am sure I've said this before but it is worth saying again:) And beyond style, here you present another aspect of forgiveness. Once forgiveness becomes a habit, it allows a person to throw out lots of old baggage doesn't it? And that really lightens the daily load. "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on..."

helanker

4:10AM | Fri, 20 March 2009

A beautiful poem. I like it. If just more people learned to forgive, then more people were happy. My experience.

anahata.c

7:18AM | Fri, 20 March 2009

('the quality of mercy is not strained, It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven..." Merchant of Venice, I think...) Dead-on capture of the moment of connection, your 'receiving' forgiveness from within, or from the cosmos, your friend receiving it simultaneously as a glimmer of light: As the zennists would say, "whoosh: Realization!" Perfect piece. I'll check out the other two later today...