The Road to Forgiveness

The Road to Forgivenes

Beneath the vast skies of Argentina,
where the Andes hold their quiet vigil,
I stood at the threshold of choice.
The jagged edges of betrayal
still pressed into my skin—
not bleeding, but raw,
aching in the memory of what was torn.

The world hung there, suspended in time,
a fragile bridge over a canyon of pain.
I wanted to turn away,
to keep the comfort of my anger,
with its familiar thrumming undercurrent,
and let the past define me.

But the sun started its ritual descent,
its golden light spilling wisdom
across the fertile verdant lands.
I thought of your cornflower eyes,
heavy with a sorrow older than my own grief
colder than the blue of Arctic ice.

Forgiveness was a surrender,
as I let go of the fraying rope
I had clung to ever tightly,
releasing the ghosts of my past.

Forgiveness carved a new path forward,
where the shadows of pain were no longer prisons,
but reminders of the freedom
I chose to reclaim.

Colleen Keller Breuning © 2024
December 3, 2024

Hello and Happy Friday, family and friends! I found this to be a deep topic which led me to a dark place in my distant past, where I had to face some stark, cold realities and make decisions about the path of my life (and Vince’s). Let’s just say there were some demons that needed to be exorcised from my life and in short, I did need to reclaim ME. I actually wrote this in the Atlanta airport, where we had a 2.5 hour layover. It came very quickly to me, kind of like a stream of consciousness write. I like when that happens, and I will have to remember the frame of mind that helped with this poem.

We got home from our flight Wednesday at 2 am – the cats were shocked but so happy that we finally returned! Our trip to Florida was a busy, happy time surrounded by grandkids and family and celebrating. These trips are always whirlwind, full of fun, good eating and memory making! I still need to post some photos on IG/Facebook, as I was so busy and just immersed in the moments that I didn’t have much time to be on social media posting. Life is good, and my heart is full.

The weekend will bring lots of work around the house, Christmas decorating, hair appointments, dinner with friends, and baking cookies for the work cookie exchange. My bunion revision surgery is on December 10, I’ll be taking 2 days of PTO for that and then working from home in my beautiful boot for a few weeks. It’s supposed to be a minimally invasive surgery, but my surgeon is doing multiple procedures to clean up my foot issues, hopefully for good. So unfortunately I won’t be running for a while, but I should be able to resume non-weight bearing exercises like pilates or some gentle yoga in a few weeks, maybe a walk around the lake with crutches until I get a little stronger. Not exercising is like being sent to the corner for punishment for me. I need it for my stress release, and to keep the senior weight gain at bay. I just need to be patient with myself for a little while, and not push it. I know I will run again, it will just take a few months to make sure the foot has healed.

Have a great weekend, and stay warm!
Xoxo,
Colleen

Ecrits Blogophilia Week 23.16 – The Healing of Forgiveness
Hard Bonus: Showcase a difficult decision (Surrendering and forgiving)
Easy Bonus: Mention a country in the Southern Hemisphere (Argentina)