Forgiving the Unforgivable

(Lights dim, single spotlight illuminates the speaker, dressed in simple attire. Voice starts trembling, building in intensity) Can forgiveness mend a childhood, mine fractured in the dark? Where the scars are a map, inked not just in flesh but deeper in my skin? The cold hard floor remembered the day innocence shattered begins. Unspeakable gibbering these scars, are etched not just in flesh but deeper in my soul. A childhood fractured innocence shattered on a cold hard floor by the hand that was meant to hold the voice that should have adored. "Father," a word twisted weaponized in the dark of night. A legion of screams the sting of leather a suffocating fright. Tears turned to rage then a hollow numbness a child's silent plea lost in the raging storm forgotten buried treasure seeking answers a love I'd never see. (Voice cracks, a groaning beat of silence) School and Siblings, a mask a fragile smile to hide the battlefield within. Each fractured memory, a fragment a constant fight to keep the battles I'd win. Teachers oblivious, to the shadows I couldn't outrun, The amalgam Storgevore who terrorized me in dreams the damage already done. (Years bled into decades, a burden carried with every stride is implied) Trust, a fragile bird refused to take flight- love a river long denied. Relationships poisoned potential choked by a past I couldn't erase A prisoner of my horrid history, forever trapped in that haunted dark, dank basement space. (Voice gains strength, a shift in tone) And then a flicker a seed of defiance a question that dared to sing. Yet was I forever tethered to the chains forged in that darkened room? Could I reclaim my story rewrite the ending of this pain? And, yet would the scars forever bleed, keeping me forever chained by Abaddon in blame and shame? (Voice softens, with a newfound resolve) The journey was arduous a mountain to climb, tears watering the way. In the storm of prayer a lighthouse emerged... (pause) guiding lost souls to the baptismal bay. Afflatus: Forgiveness not for him but for me offered a chance at last, to breathe, A release from the grip of the past breaking the chains and finally being forever free. (Voice reaches a powerful crescendo) He may never walk this path. Yet the burden is no longer mine to bear. His actions no longer define me, his darkness cannot wear and tear my soul. He'll never know the freedom of forgiveness- I choose to extend. But the power lies within me, a burden I no longer intend to carry. His actions don't define me, his darkness cannot tarry. I rise above the ashes a mariposa bathed…. in the golden hope of dawn. (Voice softens, a sense of peace settling in) Yet, the scars remain, a testament to battles fought and won. Yet they no longer are spoken in pain; a new song has begun. It's a song of resilience of an indomitable life that wouldn't break. The Spirit’s promise to finding forgiveness, not for him, but for my own soul for my beloved and for the flesh of our flesh’s sake. (Lights slowly fade, leaving the speaker in a quiet strength) Peace, as a fragile Mariposa takes flight wings shimmering in the light of the hope of a new golden dawn.