no confessions
I loved you before I knew your name
The first time I saw you
What be your name
Earnestly I wished to know
your voice like music
speaking first shyly
and then, later
slyly
softly humming a tune
bright
Eyes, liquid darkness
passing over me
like the sun, your smile
shines
kisses on my face
Sweetly, the moon
regards the sun
brilliant
lights
obscure lights
illumine
a touch
takes hold
time unfolds
days go by
all remains
All Rights Reserved 2008
Some thoughts about confession. Many hear confession and think law, think church, think oh-no. For some time the title of this poem did not click with me. I found the words and the meaning of the poem not consonant with its title. Seems like a "confession," but no, it's not. I recently read in Flannigan's book about transformations. She discusses the difference between apology and confession. The big difference according to her is that a confession is disclosure of something previously secret that another party would not or could not have had any knowledge of prior to disclosure. Makes sense.
On the other hand, an apology is acknowledgment of some 'no, not-good' that both parties are aware of which directly affects their ongoing interactions. Love isn't a secret when both parties are in on it. This poem is not an apology nor a confession. When we approach the confessional in some church, the intent there is to bring light into our darker spaces, to open up breathing room, to free ourselves from the dark, deep burdens we carry, and to replace those weights with a new sense of self, and a renewed connection to the Spirit and the Creator. That's a confession, and it has a place in love, the breath of dawn.
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