07/17/2025
Let the sword
that pierces your pride
cut so deeply
And trace its blade
in and down
to the most humble wound
that has too long been defended
by your reactions
Stay there
as you weep out the poison
of hiding
and enter the wellspring
you once thought a wound
that gushes self understanding
and forgiveness
Stay there and experience
transformation
as your deepest shames
given to light
become your flags of honor
in the great victory
of no longer having
to reject yourself
It is in that heroic lack
of hiding your hurt
that you let God’s grace
into your heart
You are changing the world
through changing your patterns
by feeling your pain
all the way through
to the point where it blooms
forgiveness
You are remaking the past now
with your courage
to no longer store pain
that inevitably ferments
into an arsenal
You are melting those guns
into shovels
and with them
you are turning the soil
that will grow a new world.
Chelan Harkin
Art: Mara Friedman
