Absolution
Tattoo my sins across my arms.
Turn to my chest
When words continue
And wingspan ends.
Write the story of my crimes,
The why, and when,
And who was hurt–
And what I lost–
I’ll bear these marks
Through my death.
Ink them deep,
So when they extract bones
From pitch bogs,
They’ll know,
But not too well.
Though you forgive,
You won’t forget,
So I dare not plead–
Absolve me, please.
(Music is titled “Instructions for Living a Life”, courtesy of Savfk)
It’s 4 AM, I’m awake again.
What have I left undone?
Whoever said my life should be
Always on the run?
I push and pull to get more done.
With barely time to knot my tie.
Turn around, the day is gone;
Left me at a loss to end…
By a rhyme.
I want to do it all in the minutes I have.
Read those books, write someone else’s memoir.
Show the patience of the Parent of the Times.
Pat myself on the back for anything I finish at all
By day’s end, even dishes or my bath.
And nighttime, I look back to see how little got done,
How much I have left to do.
Mostly, I see, in the middle of the night,
All the really big things I passed right over—
Something spiritual, generous, a mitzvah? —
And forgot to do; so they didn’t get done.
By anyone.
And tomorrow is not just another day.
It’s the dawn when everything has to be done.By me.
