If I seem a tad

Protective at times,

If I seem too inclined

To show you the right way according to me,

If I seem to bring up your confusions,

And point out what I think are your illusions,

And remind you of decisions you must make—

Then,

~

Please forgive me these things.

I mean not to harm,

Not to burst the bubbles

Of your liquid soap dreams

Or distract you from your golden highway.

I mean not to be the enemy

Of the endless possibilities

Which dance in your eyes,

Not to be the wake-up call that draws you

From your nighttime dreams.

~

Please forgive me these things.

I have come to know a life

Of closed hands,

Grasping onto those I need,

Squeezing for love,

Taking from those around me,

Shaping those I can change.

~

Please forgive me these things,

Because I am learning to let go,

To meet you face to face,

To have no answers to your questions,

No right ways or correct paths,

To wait for you to make your moves,

To accept you as you are and love it too.

I am learning to reach out

With open hands,

Learning to love patiently

Without cause or condition.

Written in 1997