My mother says that you must forgive to be forgiven
But you cannot forgive someone who is not sorry and you cannot be forgiven without admitting you are wrong
Forgiveness is a weak word, one that speaks of resignation, yet another word I cannot stand to say.
Sometimes I pray for the gift of forgiveness, and that is something I hate to admit due to the emptiness I have always found in religion and the depth I have always found in pain
But still I pray for the strength to forgive someone who I will never even give the chance to apologize
And I pray that maybe one day I'll open my eyes and think, "It's alright that I am so angry"
But it is not alright
The anger I am able to harbor can feel so limitless, as if it will seethe under the surface until I can let it go
But no matter how much I pray, God will not tell me how to set my acceptance free
Maybe that is because acceptance can only go so far, or even because I don't have any acceptance to give.

My mother tells me I must forgive to be forgiven
But I prefer to say, "An eye for an eye."