My Prayer for Forgiveness

I could have stood up and
walked among the unhappy ones.
I could have swallowed
the stigma of being on the outside,

lived with derision of having spoken
the truth with an angel's conviction,

knowing I believed what was proper
and decent, equitable if
unfeasible, was the most honorable
of choices. I could have
spoken up, out, shouted no
I won't go along with the collective
madness of the herd. I could have
stood to be counted, convicted,
one of the unholy afflicted
prepared to be evicted, banished
for life from life. Yes, I could
have stood up and walked among

the unhappy ones. My brothers
and sisters, black brown yellow white

purple and green, I should have stood up
and walked the miles beside you.

I didn't, and I'm sorry

sorry sorry sorry so many of you

had to fall along the roadside

because I wouldn't stand up and walk

among the unhappy ones.

Ken e Bujold

© 2022

Reviews

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

At the end of our days if we are lucky enough we are given opportunity for reflection. To ask of ourselves if we did enough. If we showed enough compassion or made a difference in the lives of others. To love beyond ourselves. I would hope most can find a peaceful resignation in their answer. A strong philosophical piece of poetry that cuts deep into the answers of what makes us human, and for which purpose we choose to live for beyond ourselves. CLE

[Ken e Bujold]

thank you for the kind, and insightful review CLE. I couldn't have summed up the point of this prayer any better than you just have

Ken

[pressedflowers]

I love the language in this and the meaning conveyed. Thank you for the beautiful read!

[Ken e Bujold]

thanks for stopping by and the lovely review PF

[Eden Dawson]

Beautiful poem. I feel the guilt as I read "I could have stood up and walked among the unhappy ones" and the grief in the repetition of "sorry".

[Ken e Bujold]

yes, unlike Mr G, believe me when I say that used well repetition is one of the best friends a poet can have

[mattavelli]

Hello, Ken! :)
I enjoyed this for it’s fine phrasing and elegant flow of thought. The repetition throughout beat an emphatic message of regret and accountability, and brought to my mind the absurd struggle of individuality and culture. To think things “should be” a certain way is an imagining. Society is as it is because of man’s willingness to make it so; so, let’s dream up more compassion and stop idealizing obedience. Thanks for sharing!

[Ken e Bujold]

thank you Matt for your kind and considered review. I agree with all you said. For me, the poem is as simple a message as simple can be: good men stand by and do nothing at our own peril

[John the Baptist]

You are flagellating yourself for the sufferings of all, or so it sounds. Even the purple and green, whoever they are. I wonder if the concern is mutual.

[Ken e Bujold]

it is not so flagellating John as it acknowledging the ideal I like to adhere to, but don't always live up...If one good man sits quietly and allows bad things to happen, what happens when all the other good men have fallen? as for purple and green, lyrical ok, but also an eye to gender equality issues of today's modern world. If by mutual, you mean is my apology one that other men would share or offer in similar circumstances, I don't expect all would, but some will, and that is the world I want to live in.

Ken e

[Fabian G. Franklin]

One must sometimes weigh the predicted benefit of one's actions with their consequence. Sometimes discretion really is the better part of valor. I know some say, "throw caution to the wind" and be bold in your convictions. And I think there is a time for that type of thinking, especially when every effort of civil discourse has proved fruitless. But I also know that getting yourself killed and counted among the bodies won't save either you or them. Living with guilt is still "living". And surviving today means you might be able to help with the causes of tomorrow. We can't be of use to anyone if we aren't there. I find that same conundrum in the fellow who goes off to voluntarily fight in a war that won't save anyone's "freedom" and gets himself killed leaving his children orphaned at home. Is he really a "hero"? Like so many things it can be argued by perspective and the semantics of importance. What is duty? What is foolhardiness? Thank you for the thought invoking read. I really enjoyed it because it made me think.

[Ken e Bujold]

thank you for the review Fabian, and the kindness of consideration. It is all I ask of readers. The prayer is mine, that it may make others think is among the points I want to make. So, again, thanks

ken

[W. Barrett Munn]

Profound and powerful. Stunning.

Winston

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

“the stigma of being on the outside,
lived with derision of having spoken
the truth with an angel's conviction”
Beautiful and heartbreaking lines here Ken. So raw, real, so authentic, so deeply moving. Great language, flow, internal rhyme, dramatic narration. Regrets, yes, I know them too. But we forgive ourselves and learn, we learn.

[Ken e Bujold]

thank you annette, and we do and must learn from our mistakes

[Ken e Bujold]

thanks for the great honor of having my work added to your library, think this may be my first such award
Ken