Upbringing, a poem by Mary Harwell Sayler:
How can you forgive
my happy childhood?
In your hapless youth,
uncouth words dropped
in near silence like a pin
pricking skin into a sieve
through which emotion
leaves you
drained.
How can you forgive
my father mother living
love that made me – or
forgive forgiveness of
what’s been long forgotten
for generations yet to come?
Will you release what will,
at last, revisit our children’s
children? How long
will your lack of pardon
be your bringing
up again?
Mary Harwell Sayler‘s bio:
Mary Harwell Sayler began writing poems in childhood but, as an adult, wrote almost everything except poetry! Eventually she placed three dozen books in all genres including poetry and how-to books on poetry and writing. She also maintains the Poetry Editor blog and provides resources for poets and writers on her website. Recently she collected almost all of the prayers in the Bible from many English translations, paraphrased them into contemporary language, and published the Book of Bible Prayers. She then published the prayer book in the King James Version only, the Book of KJV Prayers.