SISTER DEAR

Forgiveness is my sister dear
Jesus told me this is so -
And so I love her tenderly
Remembering she shares with prayer
A sacred function in my life
Unlocking frozen pain and fear
Repressed beneath my conscious mind
In attitudes which curb and bind.

So many things were "law" to me
The taint of right and wrong
The slightest hint of difference
Unleashed my judgement's edge.
And cutting deep I'd comments keep
On everybody's head
To hold against them if they dared
To threaten my serenity.

But she my sister soon did show
That this was hurting me.
The trouble lay not there with them
But deep inside of me.
The slightest pang of discontent
Reaction to events,
Unknown to me was pointing not
Out there at all
But showed that I believed in "sin"
Enshrined within forever since the "fall".

Each niggling pain forgiveness came
To gently rearrange.
Relentless hate I'd harboured changed
Another world I viewed.
The painful "truth" about us all
The barricades against recall
That I had feared to view
Receded drop by drop each day
As I became aware of you
My loving sister new.

Like gentle dew at morning found
Bestowed upon unyielding ground
She came to softly rain
Release upon me too.
In face of parched hard judgement I would hear
Her ask permission in my ear
To help me reconsider ....
Reconsider painful "facts" and briefly wonder whether
They were facts at all or even hard-edged bigotry.

And so I'd look forgiveness' way
And find within my mind
Thoughts like little bits of glass
Broken into slivers,
Fragments of fear embedded deep
Which set my heart a-quiver.

She gently urged me not to fear
But look again and see
If I could just mistaken be.
Perhaps my brother just like me
Could still be viewed quite peacefully
And seen another way.
Another way which absolved blame.
Perhaps he acted out of pain.

And so she turned harsh judgement's blade
Which pointed at my brother,
And showed it pointed then at me
Unless I wanted to be free
From it myself, and asked her help.

"Would you accuse yourself of this?"
She said, "Forgive yourself again.
Your hatred of yourself this is
Not judgement's just revenge."

And so l did and,lo ....!
The pain which was but cover
Was straightway gone and wondrously
Still lovable my brother!

For accusations of myself
I'd mirrored in him plain
As "sin" and cankering offence
Which thought swore could not ever be
Removed or recompensed - were gone!

Forgiveness set her brothers free
As equals and as friends.
And now by sweet reflection I could see
That he was innocent as me...

This change of mind is gentle, kind
Corrects the pain within
And leaves a space for peace and grace
To enter in, to enter in...!

written by Minette Quick
Inspired by the Song of Prayer and
A Course in Miracles a line of which is quoted above