The Forgiveness Project
        —after Szymborska

Under what conditions should one admit wrongdoing?
Is confessing in a dream as good as in a booth?
Who goes first?
Are there age restrictions?
Do the dead get a shot?

Who runs the project and for how long?
Are reservations and appointments a must,
or is it first come, first served?
Is there a suggestion box? A gift registry?
Will I need a witness?

When the apology part is over,
will all spilled secrets be tagged and catalogued?
Accidents, sins, mistakes, peccadilloes . . .
who decides what's what?
Do records remain sealed?

Do poems count as admissions of guilt? Do paintings?
Are confessional poems by victims
filed under A for Allegations
during pax audits and quarrel inventories?
Is the Forgiveness Librarian discrete? Is she happy?

After the project, will a pardon be a privilege,
a rite of passage, or both? Is there a prize for best entry?
Do animals participate? Do plants?
Will a new holiday mark the end of resentment?
Are "I Forgave Today" stickers at the exit?

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Copyright © 2022 Kathleen Balma All rights reserved
from From Your Hostess At The T&A Museum
Eyewear Publishing
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission