The only reason we don’t open our hearts and minds to other people is that they trigger confusion in us that we don’t feel brave enough or sane enough to deal with.
—Pema Chodron
The hands and tongue
would make quick work
of forgiveness, rushing
to shake hands, or to touch
the other’s feet, or to taste these words
I am sorry, please, forgive me,
but the body will not be hurried,
will grieve and shed and wander many
rooms of confusion and courage
before the real apology
rises in its own time
in its own way, perhaps doe-eyed
and unstartled, with such sweet
fragrance, with such compassion
you reach also for your own face
and say, I forgive you.
