Despair has been called the unforgivable sin--not presumably because God refuses to forgive it but because it despairs of the possibility of being forgiven.
Frederick Buechner in Wishful Thinking (1973)
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Only Unforgivable Thing
(HogarthKellyMosleyRotheryTrewavas)
The only unforgivable thing
Hauls itself out of bed
Looks over my shoulder
At the BloodyEnglishWeather
The only unforgivable thing
Waits for me in the corner of the room
Laughs as I clean my teeth
Laughs as I rub at my eyes
The only unforgivable thing
Is curled up in the wardrobe with my clothes
Sticks like chicken bones in my throat
Ruins the ritual Sunday lunchtimes
The only unforgivable thing
Watches itself with me
Every night on the TV
Follows me across the park
As I go out walking in the dark
Waits for me in the kitchen cupboards
The only unforgivable thing
The only unforgivable thing
We will close down
Hide in the corner of the
Lost and Found
For to live without the ground
Is so unsound
Gravity would only pull us down
Will no one help the boys
Who exist only as voices?
I have lost the stars and the sky
It was so that I could keep the earth
So now I'm found
Beyond the rocket-burst among the burned out fireworks
In No-vember
The only unforgivable thing
Is comfortable in it's own skin
Whispers "Why did you do this to me?"
'til it's just about all
Just about all I can see
The only unforgivable thing
The only unforgivable thing
The only unforgivable thing
I did..
I did..
You did.. You did.. You did..
We did..
song performed by by Marillion
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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We the unforgiving
and we’ll never quite forgive our parents
for being our parents
and we’ll never never forgive that one
we thought our best friend
for stopping being our friend without
an explanation or anything
and we’ll never ever forgive our first lover
our first for heaven’s sake
for dumping us and ruining our whole life
and we'll never quite forgive -
no, let's not go there; that's
too close to home...
and we’ll never forgive God for,
oh everything, if we knew
how to not forgive God
and secretly we’ll never forgive ourselves
for all the things we wish we hadn’t done
although of course we deserve to be forgiven
for it wasn’t really our fault was it..
how could we forgive ourselves, when there’s that
that dark figure lurking behind us saying
don’t you dare forgive yourself,
you ungrateful little…
and if you forgave everyone, you wouldn’t
know who you were… it’s not
as easy as that, oh no
oh yes it is. oh yes it is.
poem by Michael Shepherd
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It is easier often to forgive than to be forgiven; yet it is fatal to be willing to be forgiven by God and to be reluctant to be forgiven by men.
quote by Charles Williams
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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But Don't Despair
Despair, if you must –
But how's it going to pull you through?
Despair, when you trust
Naught since then there's naught to do.
Despair, should you thrust
Aside your pride, your self-esteem.
And so despair, if it's dust,
The only substance that you deem.
Despair, when a gust
Of slightly breeze can break your stance.
And do despair, when lust
Is your interpretation of romance.
But don't despair, if you can care
About the plight of any other being.
And you can focus on the help,
Support, and altruistic further actions
For the seeing. Be believing,
As despair will start receding
All around – simply since you found
A way to steer you clear
From this: the very cause of your despair!
So give to others; give them all a helping lift:
Despair, you'll find will disappear –
And that has got to be a well-deserved
And saintly gift!
Copyright © Mark R Slaughter 2009
Rain of despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
despair despair despair despair despair despair despair
poem by Mark R Slaughter
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Lowered down on a mat
Four of them carried me up the steps at the side
and then they began to open the rooftop wide.
They lowered me on my mat right down to the ground
at the feet of Jesus with people standing round.
Jesus saw the faith of my friends and said to me
'You are forgiven take up your mat and go free.'
But as He healed me and when I took up my bed
'Blasphemy, only God can forgive, ' someone said.
Then Jesus replied 'Why are you thinking these things? '
'For the Son of Man has power to forgive sins.'
'Is Your sins are forgiven' easier to say'
'Than the words, ‘Take up your mat and walk on your way? '
So I took up my mat and walked out of their view
for I had not just been healed but forgiven too.
All the people present praised God for what they saw.
No one had experienced anything like this before.
Written after reading Mark 2: 3-12
No Place For It At All
I have forgiven you.
I have!
There is no resentment,
Stirring within me that brews!
Although the images remain
As impressions on my mind!
But I don't find the time,
To relive them
Like I use to do!
I have forgiven you.
I have!
And all the things you did...
To make my life a living hell
When I was a kid!
And the tears I shed,
When I felt then
That I was better off dead!
When I had no bed of my own.
And you could care less...
About the mess you left us in!
I have forgiven you,
I have!
But what I had to learn,
Was to forgive myself
For the burning inside of hatred I carried!
I buried my emotions in my chest!
Now released.
My mind is now in completed peacefulness!
I have forgiven you,
I have!
I had to.
Resentment is something 'you' lived with!
I have no place for it at all!
You taught me not to want it around!
And to leave it,
Wherever it was noticed, recognized and found!
I have forgiven you.
I have!
Don't let that ever be your concern!
There is much more worth to my life,
God has kept me here on this Earth yearning!
I have forgiven you.
I have!
If I had not...
You would not be left,
With that thought to wonder!
poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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I Pray
I can't quote the Bible
I skipped Sunday school
And I can't count the times I fell and broken the golden rule
So I don't know if He listens
Sometimes I wonder if He cares
Maybe I'm just wishin'
'Cause I can't even prove he's there
But I pray
He'll watch over my childern
I pray
Just to be a better man
To find the strength to rise above
To be there for the ones I love
To forgive and be forgiven some sweet day
I pray
Now I confess I don't bow my head as often as I should
Mostly just when times are bad, rarely when they're good
And I don't hold with too much preachin'
But I was raised up to believe
That a man can't ever stand as tall
As when he gets down on his knees
So I pray
He'll watch over my childern
I pray
Just to be a better man
To find the strength to rise above
To be there for the ones I love
To forgive and be forgiven some sweet day
I pray
So I pray
For a world that's gone half crazy
I pray
For every woman child and man
To find the strength to rise above
To teach each other how to love
To forgive and be forgiven some sweet day
I pray
I pray
song performed by by Lonestar
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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To forgive oneself? No, that doesn't work: we have to be forgiven. But we can only believe this is possible if we ourselves can forgive.
quote by Dag Hammarskjold
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Liberty is the possibility of doubting, the possibility of making a mistake, the possibility of searching and experimenting, the possibility of saying No to any authority - literary, artistic, philosophic, religious, social and even political.
quote by Ignazio Silone
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Liberty is the possibility of doubting, the possibility of making a mistake, the possibility of searching and experimenting, the possibility of saying No to any authority--literary, artistic, philosophic, religious, social and even political.
Ignazio Silone in The God That Failed (1950)
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Despair Of The Early Morning
DESPAIR OF THE EARLY MORNING
Despair of the early morning
Despair of the darkness
Despair of the Despair
Despair of Old Age
Despair of the road closed
Despair of nothing to do
Despair of nowhere to go
Despair of endless errands
Despair of money running out
Despair of the message of Despair
One transmits to those one loves.
Despair that has to be resisted
Despair that the light of the day
Will help me overcome
Despair I will pray my way out of
Despair I will in the course of the day
Sometime overcome.
Not the great Despair
The unending Despair
The final Despair.
The small Despair of who I am and where I am now.
The Despair that still can be resisted,
By the writing of a few awkward lines
Early in the morning.
poem by Shalom Freedman
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The Forgiven Ones
the forgiven ones
share their plates & their fires
wear hand-me-down clothes
& old worn out shoes...
the forgiven ones
plant their seeds in the earth
plow thru the darkness
waiting for the sun & the rain
the forgiven ones
stand by the woman giving birth
take the orphans to their breasts
& call now home
the forgiven ones
share the same language
let go of their anger
& carry each other's loads
the forgiven ones
pray with their hands
sing with their tears
& fight with their hearts...
the forgiven ones...
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Sonnet: Forgive Them God, Lord
Forgive them God, they know not what they do;
Forgive them Lord, they know not what they say;
Forgive them God, they are my siblings too;
Forgive them Lord, they seem just bad today!
Forgive them God, they were all born with me;
Forgive them Lord, they suffered really;
Forgive them God; they were so good truly;
Forgive them Lord, they have done their duty!
Forgive them God, the tempter has them prey;
Forgive them Lord, they were so sad most days;
Federal been God and send your guardian fay;
Forgive them Lord, they have innocent face!
Forgive them God; I’ll pray for them instead;
Forgive them Lord; better You strike me dead!
28-5-2001 Perundurai, ERODE. T.N. INDIA
poem by John Celes
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Despair Is Darkness
DESPAIR IS DARKNESS
Despair is darkness-
Despair is death inside and death in the world and death in one’s own sad soul-
Despair is no way out -
Despair is the place where one is forever stuck -
Despair is the realization that one has done what one could – and one is not going anywhere else-
Despair is the admission of failure-
Despair is no sign of help anywhere around-
Despair is so much lost-
Despair is one‘s life is over-
Despair is regret-
Despair is the sense that one will never have the time to have another chance -
Despair is ‘it’s finished’-
Despair is no way out-
Despair is going down and more down and more dark and more afraid all the time -
Despair is the scream which hurts and does not stop the hurting -
Despair is the understanding that even Death will not save one -
Despair is that the pain will never end-not even with death.
Despair is no way out again and again and again- without end.
poem by Shalom Freedman
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Life and chances
People alwas say,
I'll give you a second chance,
People say i love you,
when they going out,
People say i miss you,
When they have no one to lean on,
People say what they think is true,
But where is the truth in that,
People think,
But whatt are they thinking of,
People judge,
But what are they judging you on,
People alwas say i forgive you,
When they really mean i'll stab you in the back,
Why can't people get along,
Why can't people forgive like they really mean it,
Why can't people really love and mean it,
Why can't people just enjoy life,
I'll tell you why,
It is because of these questions that go through our mind,
that gives us a chance,
that gives us hope, love and spirt,
our souls are forgiven,
but our looks and action well never be forgiven or forgotten.
these words where spoken by the wise man in my heart, mind and soul.
poem by Anna Reeves
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Forgiveness From Calvary
When by God a soul is forgiven, the Spirit of Christ you are given,
The Holy Spirit marks a life, forgiven by God through Jesus Christ,
Friend when we come to Calvary, Christ changes both you and me,
Making a soul into a New Creation, through His Power of Salvation.
That soul with God, in one accord, as they come to Christ as Lord,
Now forgiven of their sinful past, they receive new life that will last,
A new life beginning at the cross, when cleansed of all sin's dross,
Then looking to the Resurrection, Christ gives us His new direction.
A new direction while on the earth, when we experience a new birth,
When born through The Spirit above, born of God, in Christ's love,
His love, that forgives all our sin, changing each heart deep within,
Creating forgiveness in each heart, that God, to others, can impart.
When by The Lord we are forgiven, by Christ's Spirit we are driven,
To forgive others, just like Christ, this for us, is not a big sacrifice,
Considering all that God has done, for men, through His Only Son,
His love can flow from each of us, as we forgive, like Christ Jesus.
Any forgiveness that from us is shown, is not from us, on our own,
But, through the Spirit of Christ, who, manifests for God a new life,
A new life for the Glory of God, to touch hearts on this earthly sod,
With the forgiving spirit of Calvary, that leads souls to life eternally.
(Copyright ©04/2012)
Voices Of The Children
how many times will we turn to the wind
and hear the voices of the children?
how many bodies, how many graves,
before we forgive and are forgiven?
who makes the choice?
and who has the voice?
whose hand can stop the killing?
who defines liberty?
brings back community?
brings back the touch and the feeling?
and when will we know
they'll never be tomorrow
unless we live today?
will we find God in each other,
in our sisters and brothers,
in what we do and what we say?
how many times will we turn to the wind
and hear the voices of the children?
how many voices, how many graves?
before we forgive, and are forgiven!
poem by Eric Cockrell
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Anna, Thy Charms
Anna, thy charms my bosom fire,
And waste my soul with care;
But ah! how bootless to admire,
When fated to despair!
Yet in thy presence, lovely Fair,
To hope may be forgiven;
For sure 'twere impious to despair
So much in sight of heaven.
poem by Robert Burns
Submitted by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Forgive Me Mother
How can this broken hearted fool
Be forgiven for making past mistakes
That affected so many lives
That I didn't mean to break
My Heartbeats at the thought
Of my thoughtlessness I use to lavish
On the ones I thought had ruined my life
My heart breaks at the senseless nagging
That was repetitive in my blame
My eyes water at the lack given
To forgive them from the heart
Why must we be so blatant with how?
We say I forgive you from my heart when in reality
You are the one not that needs their forgiveness
From the heart
I bow on bended knee and ask thee
To forgive me from the heart
For the harm befallen you
This time I mean it from my heart
Please Forgive me Mum
© Copyright Kaila George 2012
poem by Kaila George
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Learning from the Good Friday
Animals do not cry over death and loss.
Death and loss are not avenged by them too.
Prosecutors, victims and rescuers unheard,
Sins and punishments are man's handicrafts.
Forgiveness is the man reasoned virtue.
The forgiver does not feel a victim
And preempt the possibility of
Making the forgiven a victim in turn.
Jesus has forgiven the prosecutors,
Who ordered Him to be crucified.
He held no more himself a victim
Nor were the prosecutors made victims.
06.04.2012
poem by Rm. Shanmugam Chettiar
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