Best To Err Is Human Poems
African-American and abusive, my late step-dad
was a reverse racist:
an army sergeant; a Vietnam vet; and, a backhand,
face-hitting sadist.
I once bemoaned that I was a white child
(as if it were my fault!?)
and that he was black and resentful of me.
So, once in reckless revolt
against his ongoing abuse,
I rebelled under my breath
and uttered the "n" word at him
(so he beat me nearly to death).
Bruised, I never uttered that word again;
then mom and he divorced
as I grew older (which freed us at last!):
now unrivaled (with no remorse),
I suddenly was the man of the house; and life
for us seemed less stormy.
For the first time in years we lived without abuse;
and, at last, we were a family.
Then I got religion and met God;
and gave myself to Christ.
It was the best thing I ever did!
Born again, I thus was sufficed.
So the scars of my step-dad's abuse which
for years I had repressed
began to heal and disappear; and so I became
less and less oppressed.
Now old, my erstwhile step-dad developed
advanced swelling of the lung;
I had not forgiven him yet (back when
I was still angry and young).
Not yet able to forgive him for the abuse that
made our lives so unbearably grim,
I nevertheless still realized that the weight
of still having hatred for him
was far worse than my pain. I recognized
that in life we all transgress
and come short of God's glory: so, moved by
His grace and forgiveness,
I made the right choice to forgive him;
for me a daily, ongoing process,
I at last began to let go of the anger
and truly begin to move past the mess
that was my step-dad's legacy to me. Also, I
began to forgive God;
for He was not to blame for him (whose own
father, too, did not spare the rod).
Still, tho' I had chosen to forgive (him) and let go,
he was unmoved and unchanged as ever:
but I, however, realized that what truly mattered
was that forgiveness set me free forever!
When at last he died, I had already completely
let go (so that he was forgiven).
Now I can only ask of God whether my step-dad
was changed from his glimpse of heaven?
To Err Is Human
Would if I could, earn a spot
in the farthest part
of your bleeding heart
to bridge the gaping chasm
that for so long separated
and kept us apart.
What fate does the future holds
for a weary father growing weak and old;
while the whole story has yet to be told?
Through the prism of my aging tears,
rainbows color the present delight
radiating in the remaining waning years.
With a love that is pure and divine,
please forgive the painful err that was mine.
If you love
why would you lie
why would you cheat
why would you betray
why would you go astray
Is it for love
that you lie
To you preserve the life that is
To retain calm
To maintain peace
To overcome
the guilt
the feel
the passion
the love
To bring back
the family
the friend
the memories
the togetherness
But to maintain this calm
You have to lie
You have to compromise
You have to live with guilt
You have to let go your true love
You have to swallow the bitter pill
Forever remain
Afraid that you could be caught
Afraid that you could be abandoned
Afraid that you could be looked down upon
Afraid that you could never be trusted by anyone
Afraid that you could have to let go of everything
Be honest
You will retain your honesty
You will retain your dignity
You will retain your love
You will retain your sleep
You will retain your relation
You will retain your feelings
You will retain your kids
As Alexander Pope said "To err is Human..."
2015.4.13 @ 15:08:03
From time to time, I believed you had unintentionally caused me harm.
I expressed and complained about them,
Then I forgave, forgot and moved on.
My favourite number was three,
I believed I did three big favours for you.
I also travelled with you three tourist places.
I always visit historic sites and country towns
During winter and when the weather is colder.
I did not tell you this because
I was not keen on making promises.
I might not please people easily,
But I definitely very careful not to offend people.
After all, I am only a common person, no body and no celebrity.
To err is human, to forgive is devine.
Will you ever forgive me if I offended you,
Which I could not recall any at all.
Even in pure gold impurity is displayed,
There is always slight flaw in white jade.
If you don’t demand perfection from me,
To live with you forever I here guarantee.
(Tran.)
You were arrested and put behind bars.
I guess you deserve to be where you are.
But we all make mistakes, to err is human, to forgive is divine.
Many people want you out of their lives but I still want you to be a part of mine.
People can change and you are paying for committing that crime.
I'll still be there for you while you're doing time.
To err is human,
to forgive, divine.
Humanity is made in errored God's image
is made in forgiving humanity
hanging on the growing family Tree
of Living/Dying Consciousness
May be what I ambiguously
and nondualistically
and paradoxically mean
by becoming more divine
as we remake
reform
re-give ourselves permission
to be sacred
and yet not perfectly empowered communicators,
verbally vulnerable
and transparent non-verbally,
Only when we acknowledge
our ego identity has not forgiven God
as remade in our own mortally errored
less than fully divine
omni-empowered soulful image.
A human soul is made in God's imagelessness
as God forgives
and reforms my EgoSoul
in humanely imperfect communitarian identity.
Sentient beings are made
in sentient Earth's interwoven
Gaian
forgiving image,
Only as ecofeminist God is forgiving
in human errored images
of regenerative humane co-acclimation,
multi-cultural yang/yin creolization,
historical democratic
non-violent process
transubstantiation
Of humane communion error
into divine self-forgiveness
for egos made in Gaia's image
As Gaian health empowerment
becomes remade
through rehumanizing
sentient Earth's
wealthiest nonzero-sum soul imagery.
Yes,
I admit that "to err is human"
but
to keep on erring is foolishness!
© Demetrios Trifiatis
08 August 2020