Poem

The Multi-Faceted Gem of Forgiveness Catches the Light

Image by: Bryana Joy

Published on:

January 27, 2020

Read time:

1 min.

It’s not about laying your fork and knife

next to the plate, parallel and always pointing

north, each steely tine seeming to say

I shall in all my best obey you, Madam.

It’s not about the clouds that still hang on you.

It’s not about stepping into sanctuaries with

thin lips and a belly full of lowliness. It’s

not about saying yes. It’s not about

unremembering the blue blooms you’ve seen

puddling under the pink skin that loves you.

It is about craving new eyes for every

living thing. May the toad see the cricket, may

the owl see the vole. May Claudius clap eyes

on his nephew at long last. May Hamlet see

Ophelia. May all the I’m sorries come out.

Bryana Joy

Bryana Joy is a writer, poet, and full-time artist who makes her living sending illustrated snail mail letters all over the world. She spent her childhood in the Middle East and is currently in the middle of a one-year sojourn in York, England with her husband. Her poetry has appeared in about a dozen literary magazines including Ruminate, The Boston Literary Magazine, and Dappled Things, and she is currently compiling material for a second book. Bryana takes delight in Celtic art, thunderstorms, loose-leaf tea, green countrysides, and the music of Johann Sebastian Bach. She can be found on Instagram and Twitter as @_bryana_joy and on her personal website, www.bryanajoy.com.

Cover image by Darya Tryfanava.

The Multi-Faceted Gem of Forgiveness Catches the Light

Next story

A Letter of Repentance