John Greenleaf Whittier – Forgiveness [Poem]
FORGIVENESS
John Greenleaf Whittier
[ *** Read ERB editor Chris Smith's recent essay: In Defense of Poetry *** ]
My heart was heavy, for its trust had been
Abused, its kindness answered with foul wrong;
So, turning gloomily from my fellow-men,
One summer Sabbath day I strolled among
The green mounds of the village burial-place;
Where, pondering how all human love and hate
Find one sad level; and how, soon or late,
Wronged and wrongdoer, each with meekened face,
And cold hands folded over a still heart,
Pass the green threshold of our common grave,
Whither all footsteps tend, whence none depart,
Awed for myself, and pitying my race,
Our common sorrow, like a nighty wave,
Swept all my pride away, and trembling I forgave!
——
Many of John Greenleaf Whittier’s books are available
for free download through Project Gutenberg…
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