the ungrown


human wrongs are serious and many,
multiplied by silence
joined by guilt
made larger still by virtue
of the unshed tear
the unsaid sorry

repentance is not
a solitary endeavor,
though forgiveness may be, or may not.
mirrors do not think.
they only reflect and therefore,
mirrors may philosophize, not feel.

the ungrown consult the mirror of escape
as they don the armor of distrust,
parade sterility as cleanliness,
allow suspicion to stand for esteem;
claim and embrace hubris
name and replace pride

with misperceived tempests of emotion
and disbelieved judgments upon love,
which they feel and fear: they feel unfairly,
blinded by potentials, which are hard
to recognize, let alone reconcile
with hurts that stunned them young and were never undone,

instead growing themselves
into wrongs so monstrous
"it had to be human"
not justified, but multiplied into the uncried
tears of the ungrown, cultivating
sticks in barren gardens.

- posted by barbara @ 10/07/2003 01:25:00 PM