Ashes

They gathered in the corners of my soul
Dark ashes of old happenings
Dressed in embarrassment and shame
Occasionally calling forth to be remembered
When pride and ego emerged in bright colors

But one day, a day of miracles and magic
I saw Rebecca in a Times Square café
And she was happy to see me and kissed my cheek
But when I apologized for old indiscretion
She smiled and said, “Really?  I don’t remember that.”

Her words came like a vagrant wind
Blowing away the ashes, cleaning the corners
Filling my soul with the new breath of life
And I stopped remembering what everyone had forgotten
And learned to forgive myself

Reviews

[Jerome Malenfant]

I don't know. In the poem Rebecca doesn't forgive you, she just doesn't remember what you did, (which is kind of dismissive, since what you did, and by implication YOU, were not important enough to her to remember). Why is that a reason for you to forgive yourself? I think the poem would be stronger if Rebecca instead forgave you. THEN you could forgive yourself. As is, the poem has an "I got away with it" feeling.

[Ravyne Hawke]

We always think the worse of ourselves and that surely everyone else must think the same. It is a blessing to learn that others have forgotten or never recalled our indiscretions at all. It is also a blessing to be able to forgive oneself. What a magical ending to such a gloomy beginning. Ashes indeed!

[smilempsn]

'And I stopped remembering what everyone had forgotten
And learned to forgive myself'

I wish I can do the same....
I liked this piece of yours ... :) :)