Forgiveness

I've spoken many times before
Of the choices we must make
So I humbly suggest to you
That in your hand you take
Your pen and put to paper
A list of those you wish
To bestow upon this very day
The greatest of all gifts

The hurt, the hate, the pain you feel
Has naught to do with "them"
It festers in your own heart
This is where you must begin
Your name, not theirs, my friend
Is precisely where you start
Atop the page of grievances
Weighing heavy on your heart

"Forgive and forget" is not the plan
The mind won't have it thus
It refuses to surrender
Old memories of things unjust
The lesson here, dear friend of mine
Is to begin to see with newborn eyes

copyright Anna Stephens