Absolution I

Defined,
Absolution is
A cleansing
A purification
An exoneration
Of the wrong-doings
The wrong-feelings
The wrong-choosings
That have preceded

Can we, however
Ever
Be absolved
Cleansed
Purified
Acquitted
Of the blemishes we’ve left
On hearts
That have come up against ours

Any skilled surgeon
Will use their hands
And tools
In such a way
As to produce
The least amount of scarring
Leaving as little evidence
of the trauma that existed
As their tools will allow

But even the most practiced of hands
Cannot guarantee
That we will be left markless
Even after the healing

And sometimes
In time
Scar tissue fades
And what once was a gaping wound
Becomes nearly imperceptible
On the map of our skin

Is time then,
More than,
“I’m sorry”
Or
More than
A jury’s verdict
The only being with the power
To grant us our absolution

Is time then
The baptism for our grief?
Or our penance
For the grief we’ve caused

Maybe time then
Is the only real forgiveness

For it is only with
The arrival and passing of days
The orbits of the moon and sun
The waxing and waning of tides
That the scars our souls carry
Can ever
Be made whole