Redemption

Redemption

is a noun that implies a verb

that alludes to a sin

you only remember because you forgot to forget it

maybe two sins or three

or a lifetime of them

but no matter

who is judging this contest, and

is he friend or foe?

Were I to adjudicate-

a verb that implies a noun

that alludes to an iconographic presentation like

justice,

I would offer judicial opinion

that you have paid in full,

and bad memories of those who sinned against you are

snapped up whole and gone

in the instant you pray,

like a sleeve of crackers spilled on the beach

within the sight of the birds, and they descend, those seagulls

making the sounds you love…

the tide comes in and the tide goes out and

not once shall you ever feel alone again.

for MJL ,
whose character amazes me every day,
and who never gives in under pressure.