The Measure of Forgiveness

There were debts, heavy and sparse,  

Two men stood with heads bowed low,  

One owed vast, the other less so,  

Neither could pay what they had vowed.  

The creditor, hand steady, heart wide,  

Lifted their burden, asked for nothing,  

Forgiveness flowed like an unseen stream,  

Binding their fates in untold meaning.  

Which, Jesus asked, loved him deeper,  

Simon spoke slow, reluctant, unsure,  

Perhaps the one forgiven the most,  

For he who lost more gains more.  

A lesson cloaked in simple guise—  

Greater mercy stirs greater love,  

Where debts dissolve, hearts awaken,  

Forgiveness blooms where justice faded.