Regret is a pencil,
Sharpened daily,
Etching blacker the sins of our past
Onto the page of our future.
Forgiveness erases
The sins of the past,
Scratches clean the coal-smudged paper,
Till we, by sin
Or worse—by shame—
Write anew the ebony letters.
Regret is a pencil.
Always it’s writing,
Trapping our minds in the coal-dark letters
Instead of on pages empty with freedom.
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I tried to sing with the choir today,
but my cat staged a rebellion.
Once upon a distant time
Somewhere in the reach of rhyme
As the flowing ages pass
The world was called a looking glass.
A poem by Vella Karman about how fear is something we use to cover up our wounds, trapping in the pain and infection.
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I loved this!
Thanks, Joseph! I’m glad you liked it!
Oof, that’s good Noah.
Thanks, Melissa!
Gosh, this was beautiful and hard to read at the same time. Really hits home.
~Corrie.S.P.
Thanks, Corrie! That means a lot–I’m glad you found it moving! I put a lot of my own struggles with shame into the poem lol