Forgive me…

“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned,”
The little witch said as she grinned.
“For I have loved & I have prayed,
Concern for all I have displayed.
I volunteer for charity,
I tutor youth for clarity.
Picking up trash & planting trees,”
She continued on upon her knees.
“But child all this is good to hear-
What sin is it has brought you here?”
Softly she said, with her heart so true,
“I don’t follow the same God as you-
I know what’s good, I know what’s right,
I have faith I’ll make it through the night.
I simply chose a different path,
One full of love and sometimes wrath.
No way is easy as I have learned
If you enter a fire, you may get burned.”
“Then go in peace,” was all he said,
The priest, with a nod of his head,
For what can you say to one so true
Simply because they’re different from you?
That night before he went to bed,
The priest knelt & bowed his head.
He thought upon the little witch
Whose robes were of a different stitch
Yet inside, the important part,
She had a loving, gentle heart.

(c) 2002 Kerrie Colantonio (McNay)

 

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Old words- I’ve grown more since then:

I wrote this poem back in 2002 when I was experiencing the trials of prejudice in the workplace, from my supervisor, from friends both Christian & Pagan alike. They could not accept each other, they could not accept me, somewhere in the middle, understanding, appreciating, confused. I still don’t understand why we cannot appreciate our differences, see our similarities, but I thought I would share this today. I’m not sure it fits into any of my planned collections/compilations, but maybe someday one will be formed around this one as the focus. ~January 16, 2012