forgiven

Wandering in the Tokai Arboretum this week, I came upon a grove of eucalyptus trees with their trunks smooth and shining. The last strips of the previous year’s bark were being sloughed off like the spent skin of a snake, revealing the purity beneath. Through the gift of forgiveness, we too can release the past and make a fresh start.

forgiven

Marble virgins
standing naked,
unashamed
as a guiltless child.

The past released
falls to your feet,
discarded
like a ragged skirt.

In newborn skin
you smoothly shine:
forgiven,
nothing left to hide.