My Piece of Paper

My piece of paper. I write upon you my pains. And you teach me to forgive.

My Piece of Paper

Little strips of white paper

Are passed about the room

My eyes dizzying slightly as they make their ways in broken patterns

My paper is handed to me, a lone strip

It feels smooth between my fingers

A pencil I grip in my other hand

It’s edges gently push my soft skin

I write, as all the others do in the room

On this paper I write.

Whom I need to forgive

As I scrawl a few names down

Realization hits me,  as I look at my finished project

The hard indentations from the pressure I forced upon my pen

Simply I describe this as anger

I carry my paper to the fire

Dropping it into flames

The flames seize my paper without hesitation

Easing my worries alas of being rejected

I watch as the white edges of the strip blacken around the edges

Sparks fly about in the air, orange dots

I watch it burn into nothing

I reflect on my feelings

Nothing, numbness, I no longer feel anger toward those people

Just a tingly warm sensation

Of forgiveness.

Author's Note

This is actually a bit of a story. At bible camp this year our preacher told us to write down names of people we needed to forgive, if we wanted to. The paper was to go into the campfire, symbolising letting go. So I wrote down a few names and threw them into the fire. Let me tell you, forgiveness is great. So I wrote a poem about it. Please tell me what you thought.

Reviews

[Gone]

This is a lovely poem and describes the process well and is complete as it is. It is important as it describes what (if done sincerely) is a successful method of finding forgiveness for others and ourselves.

However, you may wish to write another poem describing the emotional journey in more detail. T.J. has a good point but I feel to add it to this particular poem may distract from the process which I believe is important to your poem.

It's lovely to be reminded of a technique which has worked for me personally and that I have used with others sucessfully. Well done.

[Undying Glory]

this was very good work, i just loved this one. yes forgiveness is such an important trait that many people have simply forgotten today. far too much emphasis on vengeance, getting your own back, and the list goes on. very powerful!

[tynamite]

I love the story behind this.

[Christopher.Holmberg]

Great story behind this.

[Marie Harrison]

We do this at our Blue Christmas service. Only we write names of people we miss who have passed. Then we burn the names in honor of their memory as we pray for them. It's very emotional and touching. Beautiful poem.

[Coyote Poetry]

I like the concept of the poem. We need to release our disappointments to be able to move on. I like how you set-up the poem. Forgiveness make us feel much lighter and content in a life. A outstanding poem.
Coyote

[Poetic Beauty]

I like this poem. It is a great way to describe letting go of anger. It is a unique idea that might work in some aspects if you really did try it.

[PrincessZeldaWannabe]

Really soft and strong!

[T. J. Blackburn]

Cool. I like the story. nice potential for impact.

"My eyes dizzying slightly as they make their ways in broken patterns" - I like this line

Thoughts:
More imagery, more showing especially in the middle. How did you feel while you were writing names? Was there anger still for these people? You've told me what's happened and how you felt but I don't feel you've shown me until the last few lines. I think your poem would be stronger with out "Of forgiveness."
:o)

[Goodbye]

I really, really like this one - I've done that before when working on issues and you really captured the process and the feeling it gives so well...