Forgiveness

[Tiger the Lion]

 ... it is a mantra of sorts, 

Hi,

This is what I felt reading the poem.  Thus, I wasn't sure anything I could suggest would be of any use, since a mantra is so supremely personal.  I do have one suggestion which is to change the order of the first two stanzas.  It seems to me you would want to forgive others before you can forgive yourself.  This may be one of those personal things that make it a matra for you, so, just a suggestion.

It does come off the tongue as a prayer.

TqB

Thanks for reading and commenting. I apologize if this is considered oversharing, but I want to respond properly/fully to what you wrote.

This poem is personal. I'm sure that most/many poems are very personal to the writer, but poetry has become an extremely unexpected outlet for me. It truly is tangible evidence of a change in me. I went over 40 years between poems. I wrote one as a senior in HS that was published in the school newspaper (the poem was an assignment in English class). Then, less than a month after a significant change in my personal life, a poem burst out of me as a way to tell my story in a vague and abbreviated manner.

The poem above is my 3rd poem as an adult, written almost exactly a year after the 1st. An old hurt had resurfaced for no reason whatsoever, and I couldn't seem to let it go. It had no relevance in my life and the person was no longer in my life. I needed the wounds to heal.

After a restless night, I got up determined to "do something" in order to move forward, and decided to write a mantra, or at least attempt to. As I began to write, the mantra clearly became more of a poem ... this poem. When I sat down to write, all of my conscious focus was on this person, or to be more honest ... a couple of people. who had hurt me in the past in completely different ways. Yet, the first line that I wrote was, "I forgive myself".

I have learned to listen rather than lead when I write, and this was a great example of that. I discovered that I couldn't forgive anyone else until I had forgiven myself. For things that I had done, and things that I had not done. After accepting that guidance, the rest of the poem flowed over a 3-4 hour period. One stanza at a time. The poem above says exactly what I wrote that day during those hours. Every line has the same meaning and purpose, though 5 lines were tweaked over the next week or so.

I'm sorry to be so long-winded. I appreciate all you comments and suggestions, and your recognition that the poem comes off the tongue as a prayer.

Blessings

Catharsis is a moving target. As new poets we try to first nail it down with personal stories. Then with metaphor and allegory. With practice, we learn to speak our truths in a voice understandable on wider levels while keeping the truth our own. It's a challenge for sure. This is a solid beginning.