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: