In a dream the word found me.

“Absolution” took my hand and brought me to tears
in a coffee shop.

Here’s to achieving illusive (and blatantly present) forgiveness!

To start
let me make myself worthy of grace.

I’ll be a bicycle tire left alone during winter, but now needed in the spring.

Would that be ok?

Now I’ll be a bouncy castle waiting
to be purchased for the hour
eager to please
quick to quadruple in size
easy to get lost in.

Next I’ll spin my own mythology,
would you like that?

So as Strabo immortalized Orpheus
Jensen immortalizes Jensen.

“I walked to and from school uphill both ways in the rain”
but
my truth is Swiss Cheese
carried in torn pockets
completely and unflinchingly real.

Here’s to forgiveness for others,

uplifting;
something special, easy and

a hand-written letter you
clutch close to your chest
not letting go until you and only you put it in your lovers mailbox.

Here’s to forgiveness of self

(once viewed as one views making a trillion dollars,
or being able to carry [your] my house
with [you] me
wherever I would wander)

and here’s to forgiving
to reliving myself of pain,
not a pardon
not an acquittal
but an opportunity to notice I am human and understand what that means.

Now at the end of this journey the ever-dawning sun of immortal love has broken my clouds, and here I am and here you are and here’s to accepting forgiveness!

So with an opened heart and sharpened mind
I’ll find the word again or let it find me
and choose to feed myself
what I earnestly feed others.