Forgive, but not Forget

I don't believe that to forgive is to forget & I don't want you to agree with me either. We let ourselves to forgive for us to be free from the pain & bitterness but you learned your lessons anyway.

YOU, who have hurt my feelings and called me names

Who ripped my heart out in all your dirty games

Now go watch me because I have grown so strong

To forgive is right but forgetting is wrong.

 

YOU, who belittled and judged me everyday

Who stomped into my labor along the way

Then guess what… What goes around comes back around

Karma is a b***h, now I’m above your ground.

 

YOU, who shut me in misery and darkness

Who never believe that I can be the best

I am bitter-free because I chose to heal

I’ve learned to discern fake and see what is real.

 

YOU, who shoved me and cut me like a dagger

Who taught me lessons I’ll always remember

I buried all the bad things you did to me

But I know of where I put them exactly.

 

 

Author's Note

What do you think? Do you believe that to forgive is to forget or to the other way around? Please drop your stand! Thanks!

Reviews

[Robert Trakofler]

Well said good sir, and i might add your process is all healthy! but take a bit from the bunny on this one... maybe to give you just a bit further grounding good friend! Revenge/karma is a b***h in your compose, you the guy reading these lines standing headlong and proud is revenge supreme! And the knowledge of your understanding of the detractors weakness in the need to destroy your countenance is something ultimately that will allow you forgive them and even pity them. now the mundane stuff.... nice rhyme scheme and word flow and great sentiment!

[KevinKevz]

Yudabest Sir! @Badbunny :)

[barleygirl]

I love your poem. Since you sent me a friend request, of course, I'm checking out your writing to see if you're a serious writer or someone who might soon fly away from here. I clicked on this poem first becuz I have strong feelings on this topic. Having been raped by my dad for years as a kid, I believe some things are not forgivable. But I also feel we can heal ourselves without it having to be about the all-mighty forgiveness routine. That being said, I agree that the point of forgiving is to get RELIEF for oneself. But this poem makes it look like the forgiven one is still spending too much time in this person's head. I agree that harsh lessons are not meant to be forgotten. But there's much venomous power expressed in your words (a strong thing for writing, but not as good for ongoing emotional health). All in all, you've made a powerful point with excellent details to help us know why this betrayal feels so bad inside (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Onlyme]

Bravo Kevin. Executed to perfection, eloquently expressed and well written. You go, sir. Proud of you.

[KevinKevz]

Wow. Thank you.Likewise. You are a great writer too.

[katie]

What a wonderful comeback piece! You really articulated coming back and rising up after someone pushes you down. I think forgiveness can happen in many different ways, but ultimately, the act of forgiveness is for the person who has been wronged. It's an act of rising above, learning from the experience, and moving on. Excellent work!

[KevinKevz]

Absolutely! Thanks for the review. It is indeed that life if full of major comebacks. Cheers!

[Abhishek Izy]

Damn, you nailed it, brother. Your words consistently hits the Bull's eyes of the emtions which are so much on fire. Absolutely loved it.

"Now go watch me because I have grown so strong
To forgive is right but forgetting is wrong."

Very strongly depicted!!!!!!!

[KevinKevz]

awee, that astounded me. You got your favorite line from it huh? :) I just want readers to picture out each word and feel it with their hearts. And I know you're one of them. Thanks!

[JayG]

Not bad. But I have a few quibbles.

First, not being the one who "wronged" the speaker, or knowing who it was, why it was, or if it was deserved, how can I react to what's said, meaningfully? It's like finding someone outside a building shouting complaint against someone unknown who might be inside.

Were I either the person being railed against, or made to know what was going on, it would have had a LOT more impact on me as a reader.

And in general...well, it's really general. This unknown person is shouting, in effect, "You're a b*****d, and you hurt me...but I got better." How were they wronged? Dunno. Why did it happen? Dunno. How did they recover? You don't say. In what way are they "above" the one who did the wronging, and in what way is karma involved? Not a clue.

So while someone unknown is venting, the reader hasn't been invited to the party. My point is that instead of reporting, invite the reader in, emotionally. Make them care, not just know.

Next: Prosody. It seems a bit lumpy here and there. S!, for example ends with L4 having only four feet.

[KevinKevz]

I was astounded for this honest review of yours and I do respect your observations and opinions about this poem. I believe this one is a hanging piece where in you get to think the missing pieces. Me, as a writer. I don't supply everything. I don't put all the necessary information needed by readers to fully understand a literary. In terms of prosody, yeah it's kind lumpy, bare with the tone of the writer I just want to sound strong and optimistic. Somehow, I did not invite the readers emotionally but at least in one way or another they sympathize and relate to what I have experienced. Thanks for the honest feedback.

[JayG]

• I believe this one is a hanging piece where in you get to think the missing pieces.

read more • I believe this one is a hanging piece where in you get to think the missing pieces.

In that case, who needs the poet? Here's the best example of that kind of poem I know:
- - - - -

The...

- - - - -
The reader is free to fill in the missing pieces any way they care to, with no limitations. It's not my work, though, I found it on another site. 🤪

Seriously, the reader comes to the poem to be entertained by borrowing the author's imagination. Our intent cannot make it to the page, and the reader has only what our words suggest to THEM, based on what the words, and their placement pull from their mind, based on THEIR background and experience, not ours. And given that we cannot know what that is, we cannot slant our words so as to have them "see" what we want them to unless we're writing emotion-based and character-centric prose.

Our goal isn't to inform the reader, remember. That's a nonfiction approach to writing. Think of poem dedicated to love. If you make the reader say, "I wish I could say it that well," and hurry to show it to the one they would wish to say it to, you've won.

Look at how many have quoted Browning's, "How Do I Love Thee." Powerful, structured perfectly, and moving. It's still around, and still being given to lovers 269 YEARS after it first appeared.

Or perhaps, you might write a poem that moves the one reading it emotionally, to the point that after reading it they seek out their partner and make love. That, too is a success.

But...tell someone you don't know that someone unknown was mean to an unknown protagonist, in unknown ways, and that in some unknown way they got better? That probably won't move the reader emotionally, because it's fact, not emotion-based. And it's author, not character-centric, which informs, but doesn't involve the reader, emotionally.

The short version: Make them care, not just know.

If you've not seen it, take a look at the excerpt to Stephen Fry's, The Ode Less Traveled, on Amazon. It's a great intro to structured poetry, and the tricks of language.

[Rye]

WOW!! I really love this write, I can relate to this write so well.

[KevinKevz]

I'm glad that you can relate with it. You can read my other writings let me know if it's also relatable to you. Thanks