I will hang my head at the judgment seat.
\nNot because I regret transgressions
\nor committed crimes.
\nMy sins have been for the most part banal.
\nI don\u2019t have a wicked impulse in my body.
\nJust ignorance, self-love,
\nindifference to etiquette.
\nI will hang my head for other reasons.
\nFor sadness.
\nFor rusty rifles on a battlefield.
\nFor children destined to be old
\nand thrown away.
\nFor the hour that used itself up
\nbefore it was done.
\nBefore the day completed itself
\nand no treasure was left at the end.<\/p>\n
I will hang my head
\nbecause of my conditional gratitude.
\nMy anger at death,
\nat sorrow,
\nat harms way.
\nThings breaking,
\nlack of faith.
\nMy refusal to stop asking why.
\nAnd not saying thank you often enough.
\nAnd I will hang my head
\nbecause I am afraid.
\nAshamed of my fear at not being loved.
\nLooked at.
\nValued.
\nWorth a scolding,
\nand not having a song it took
\na lifetime to compose.
\nA picture with all the world\u2019s colors,
\na poem with every word worth saying,
\nnot having wounds received in passion,
\nonly the unmarred expression of the
\nheartless and their sterile purity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I will hang my head at the judgment seat. Not because I regret transgressions or committed crimes. My sins have been for the most part…<\/p>\n