ON FORGIVENESS
I’ve long been told
its chief benefit is a gift
to oneself most of all.
Suspicious of ease,
stingy as I am to give it,
forgive me when I say:
the clutching of my tight heart
has been talisman
warding off the hurt to come.
*
Andrea Potos is the author of several collections of poetry, most recently Two Emilys (Kelsay Books) and Her Joy Becomes (Fernwood Press). A new collection entitled The Presence of One Word is forthcoming later in 2025. Recent poems can be found in CALYX Journal, Presence, New York Times Book Review, Earth’s Daughters, and Poem. You can find her at andreapotos.com
Such a big idea in such a tiny space. That’s poetry.