It is the right way
to leave this place
with a heart
softer than stone
At the crossing
it is the right
way
to forgive
It is the right way to release
all hostility toward those
who wound us
by their hapless presence
alone
It is in forgetting
the trespass
of others
that the crossing
at last
becomes home
This was taken from the book By the Light of My Father's Smile by Alice Walker
I especially like the fourth verse. It's something that I often don't think about, how I am burdened by experiences that are no one's fault. There is no blame in simply not agreeing with someone, or not getting along with someone. Chance encounters with unpleasant people, though we may think we have left the experience unaffected, wound us in small ways. And we carry around this burden of hostility, and we must remember to let it go. Especially at death, which is what this poem speaks of. We must not travel to our final destination carrying a load of emotions which we have no control over, which we are not responsible for. Do you think it's significant that she's translated the last line to read "forgetting the trespass of others" instead of forgiving the trespass of others? Is there a difference in forgiving and forgetting?