How can I forgive if you keep punishing me?
A judge in a courtroom built entirely of bone,
I sit on a bench that is jagged and cold.
For crimes I committed in shadows unknown,
For stories my terrified memory won't hold.
There is no indictment, no charge on the page,
No witness to whisper the where or the when.
Yet daily I lock myself into the cage,
And turn the invisible, rusted-out pen.
How does a heart grant a pardon at last
To hands that are guilty of nothing at all?
How do I bury the ghost of a past
That never quite happened, yet forces the fall?
I sentence myself to the weight of the air,
For sins I can't name in the dead of the night.
I’m begging for mercy from no one is there,
And blinding myself with a self-inflicted light.
To forgive is a bridge over rivers of stone,
But how do I cross when there’s no water deep?
I am haunting a house that is empty and lone,
And punishing ghosts that refuse to go to sleep.
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Author:
Friendship (
Offline) - Published: August 28th, 2026 19:13
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 36
- Users favorite of this poem: peto, Tristan Robert Lange
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Comments7
Love how you write friendship
Great rhyme and flow but so much more
So vivid and personal
Forgiveness is never easy, esp with ongoing hostility
I struggle even to forgive myself
I mentioned this to someone once who replied " have you ever asked God to forgive you? Maybe I said
Why should he if you wont
Anyway
I am in awe of the feeling your writing produces
Often the worst punishment is what we give ourselves. Believing that no one would punish us unless we deserved it we invent reasons. Nicely written with good rhyme and flow it reads well. A sad poem where punishment seems read into every action.
Haunting and deeply moving.
Good write F. I never knew I was punishing you. What have I done? lol.
A very moving read 🙏🏻🕊️
What a painfully powerful piece, my friend. You capture the impossible struggle of seeking forgiveness for an unnamed offense while the mind keeps imposing punishment. I know something of that merciless inner judgment...and this gives it a haunting form. Wonderfully written. 🌹🖤🙏🕯️🐦⬛
I could write this whole thing on my forehead but will settle for "I sentence myself to the weight of the air". sincere lament. Nicely done.
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