Know Peace - NaPoWriMo Day #8

Know Peace

The peace you took from me
is suddenly easily within reach.
My synapses fire and remind me
that it wasn't personal,
that we were young,
that we didn't know better.

That if you'd known I'd be so affected
even after decades away from the pain,
that you wouldn't have had the heart
to inflict it upon me.

That if I'd known you were in such pain yourself,
that I'd have turned the other cheek
or even reached out my hand
in empathy and friendship.

Imagine that.

And though we'll never know
what difference it may have made,
rewriting the story within my brain
gives me understanding and perspective
to let me love and trust again.

I don't regret sharing a childhood with you.
I could label you a bully; myself, a victim.
But wouldn't that be too simplistic of a view?
Weren't we both victims of the system?
Of parental worldviews and societal pressures?
Weren't we both just children? Just kids?

Some say that I'm too forgiving,
but who drank the poison but me?
There is no revenge in resentment,
and even if there was, no peace.

You are no longer in my classroom—
no longer even in my rear-view.
So in my prayers, I wish you well.
What else is left to do?