All Else Could Be Forgiven

11 March 2026

https://poems.culturing.net/2026/03/11/all-else-could-be-forgiven/

I can paint you with light or shadow,
but always a sketch from distorted memory,
a hazardous road and one filled with peril.
My fears begin to seem foolish,
but so does my love, beginning so soon
and with no foundation. I did not
choose it, but that does not make it less foolish.
Whence came these demons of Vanda?
I have known enough Vandas to fear her.
Of course you chose to play her,
but you do not feel like her, on the whole,
unless I distort what I know of you.
I can do that quite well. I'd like you
to know, that if I was right the first time,
I'm sorry I could not hold true. Vanda
scared me. Perhaps love scares me. Perhaps
you scare me, and the feelings you awaken.
I needed time to subdue this fear. Thank you
for helping me subdue it. My only complaint
is your silence, which I cannot understand.
You may just be coy, but this coy?
Too coy to reply? Even just to say
"Thanks for the offer"? It feels like an insult,
and if it was one, then all of my criticism stands.
But if you explain this one thing, I think
all else could be forgiven.

I have entered the bargaining phase of grief.
Let us see what will come of it.