Because the past claws back

All I saw was rain

Wishing

We’d hug in the downpour

I heard a sigh of impatience

I ate dinner alone.

I hadn’t turned out like him

A force of nature

A black bear

I had killed his beloved wife

Nothing was ever going to change that.

The earth shook

I bit my fist

Shut my eyes

One last chance

I wasn’t going to fail.

Indignity

Blame

Tired, spent, frustrated

He’d stood up for me

                                                In the end, I ran.

To move on, forget

To start with a clean slate

To breathe again.

There is a way to be good

Old faithful friend

A way to end the cycle

An orphan somewhere in Kabul

A way to be good again.

I wasn’t worthy of this sacrifice

Red dripping down his face like blood

Devotion

“For you a thousand times over”

Vindication. Salvation. Redemption.

I flinched like I’d been slapped

I felt at peace, Healed at last

I forgive you.