The Fabric of Forgiveness

Key

—Photo by Keely S. Dorran, Sacramento

THE FABRIC OF FORGIVENESS
—Loch Henson, Diamond Springs

Thread by thread,
made up of varied materials
     (cotton,
          silk,
             wool,
                leather)
you do what you can to create
a strip to bandage your wounds.

Some of them call for a band-aid;
Some of them call for a tourniquet.
Some of them call for an amputation.

It was not your place to have a Kevlar heart.
It was not their place to trespass and
do harm, yet harm was done.

Then the real work begins.

You spin, and weave, and gather
and grieve for the part of yourself
that you recognize as injured after triage.

You slowly build the tool you need
with the skills you have and
the patience you are struggling to claim
as your own.

Eventually what you weave is the fabric
of forgiveness.  This is not for them.
This is for you.

It may not look glamorous at first glance,
and it might not match your entire wardrobe,
but it will save you when you need it to.

_________________________

—Medusa