Sunday, August 06, 2006

Forgiveness, by George Roemisch

Forgiveness

Forgiveness is the wind-blown bud
which blooms in placid beauty at Verdun.

Forgiveness is the tiny slate-gray sparrow
which has built its nest of twigs and string
among the shards of glass upon
the wall of shame.

Forgiveness is the child who
laughs in merry ecstasy
beneath the toothed fence that
closes in Da Nang.

Forgiveness is the fragrance of the violet
which still clings fast to the
heel that crushed it.

Forgiveness is the broken dream
which hides itself within the corner of the mind
oft called forgetfulness so that
it will not bring pain to the dreamer.

Forgiveness is the reed
which stands up straight and green
when nature's mighty rampage halts, full spent.

Forgiveness is a God who will not leave us
after all we've done.

by George Roemisch


With appreciation from www.elise.com

Posted via web from marielenora's posterous

1 comment:

Gene B. said...

Does anyone know anything more about George Roemisch than that he was supposedly the author of this poem? The violet metaphor has been credited to others, including Mark Twain, but there seems to be nothing about the person, who he was, when he lived, anywhere in Google, certainly not in Wikipedia. How do we know this poem predates the other citations and didn't merely incorporate the line? I know I would not be the only one interested in learning more. Thanks for any information!