The words tumble from my lips
before I can stop them.

I’m sorry.

He tells me to stop apologizing.
I – catch myself before I say it again.

I don’t know why I feel compelled
to offer up this utterance as a surrender
when I’ve done nothing wrong.

It’s become a habit that I can’t break,
this expression of contrition
where no sin is apparent.

And so I wonder...

What is it I’m apologizing for?
If it’s my words,
why can’t I own them?
If it’s my actions,
why can’t I back them?
If it’s myself,
why can’t I love me?

I mean what I say.
I trust what I do.
I like who I am.

It is time to stop apologizing.