It was that we were so right
That we were wronged
That ruined us—

That we clawed absolution
From innocence presumed,
Which, pursued,
Saw us to this end:

That we did not know
And never knew
The cruelties
Of blamelessness.

In all that searching
For whom 'the bell tolls',
We thrash about, threadbare
In plaintivity,
In hopes
That each admits
What each denies—

Forgetting
That failure to forgive
Itself occurs
Before the wrong.