Consequences
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I wrote this for a contest several years ago. It was a challenge for me
because of the truth I was admitting to--a period of backsliding--and
because free verse is definitely NOT my forte.
Time after time, the thief struck,
but I could never report a loss.
Tangibles were not taken.
I knew the identity of the perpetrator
but couldn't ask for ordinary justice.
This was no ordinary criminal.
This deceiver led me down
paths of promise to find fulfillment . . .
for the flesh was weak.
Each time, I paid a fee,
a degree of my self-respect,
joy, and peace of mind.
How could the sincere youth
who invited Jesus into her heart
at age 14 be acting so--lost?
Internal thieves are the hardest to defeat.
Only God could help me.
I prayed--truly believing.
Over time, He banished the deceiver,
my desire for what He's forbidden,
and nurtured the better part of me.
Sins, though forgiven, have consequences.
He left a reminder,
a scar in my memory,
to keep me from ever again
becoming what I once was.
Date: March 25, 2019
Contest Title: Strength Thru Adversity
Sponsor: Gregory R. Barden
Placed third in Lu Loo's Beautiful Scars contest in November 2015
May 28, 2019, entered in Anthony Slausin's Truth Poetry Contest
April 6, 2021, entered in Brian Strand's All Yours (April 7) contest
January 4, 2023
Revealing Your Soul and Other Tension Poetry Contest Placed 2nd
Sponsor: Sotto Poet
Copyright © Janice Canerdy | Year Posted 2015
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