Head bowed
The numbing curse
of resentment comes
to capture me
in its lumpy maggot-riddled
corpse, putting on my back
a burden I am aware of
I cannot keep.
And even though I wash and scrub,
daily cleansing myself of its
putrid stench, it returns, living,
climbing my shoulders into my hair.
I know the only clear path is forgiveness,
no matter my so-called-righteous-heart
cawing for justice. I know I will never
find peace this way, nor mercy
unless I can give it.
I am the one who need forgiveness
for allowing this monstrosity to suckle on
my spirit for so long.
I thought I was past it.
I thought I truly became a citizen,
sealing my covenant.
But it is here again,
raging like before, expecting
vindication.
I hope it is a ghost of its first-self,
still large but flimsy, visible
but lacking all density.
I pray I can overcome its devouring song
and show the love to others
that I myself have been given.
Open here, casting off
its angry cries,
its barbarian anguish
blocking my own way forward
into saving deliverance.
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Copyright © by Allison Grayhurst 2025
amazon.com/author/allisongrayhurst
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Published in “Synchronized Chaos” February 2026
https://synchchaos.com/synchronized-chaos-first-february-issue-tba/
https://synchchaos.com/poetry-from-allison-grayhurst-17/
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First published in “Poesy Place” December 2025
https://www.poesyplace.com/head-bowed-a-poem-by-allison-grayhurst
You can listen to the poem below: