Je pardonne

I forgive to forget
I forgive to breathe
To stop stirring
The knives in my wounds

I forgive to make space
To let anxieties slide away
And to recognize the kid
I was in the mirror

I forgive against all odds
Rain or shine, cold or hot
To escape the grip
Of dark years, of gray souls

I forgive the past, the future
For the screams and for the whispers
So those who’ve hurt me
Stay alone with their dirty hands

I forgive right or wrong
Bitterness isn't my home
Rage, but not resentment
Anger, but not bitterness
I forgive and I want to hope
That you can also forgive me

I forgive you, I forgive myself
But I remember it all

That they messed with me
For my looks, for my voice
For my risks and for my choices
Of course that will linger
But I gather the crumbs
And I forgive out loud
Nothing haunts me, nothing stops me
No grudges, no debts
And for all the things unsaid
All the: I love you, all the: Thank you
That got stuck
In a throat or lost in the air
Everything I wasn't given
I went to get it
I forgive absence
The lack and the silence

I forgive right or wrong
Bitterness isn't my home
Rage, but not resentment
Anger, but not bitterness
I forgive and I want to hope
That you can also forgive me

I forgive you, I forgive myself
But I remember it all

I forgive recklessly
To feel the light
Of days that are born, days that die
Every spark, every glow
I forgive and I want to hope
That you can also forgive me

I forgive you, I forgive myself
But I remember it all
I forgive you, I forgive myself
But I remember it all