how to live a debt-free life. lesson one.

and this is for the woman who
i encountered on my soul's way today

whose heart so bankrupt
so hard, so dry, and withered
from feeding a no longer secret poison

unleashed her hatred in a manner
incredibly abusive and unkind

i chose you,
after observing
you berate and demean my coworker
i wanted you to know

there is a love to embrace a heart like yours

and when it angered you that
having exhausted your venom
i could look you in the eye unblinking
and see you,

see you, i
unflinching,
could see your heart
you, then, seeing my sorrow

which was like that of a parent who knows
her child's wilfullness unrelenting
will inevitably bring suffering

when, at your volume,
my voice grew softer and even
slow with deliberate gentleness
when then you had no other recourse
but to mimic my quiet
now
nearly at a whisper,
just to feel as though you were still in control
when your hatred did not shift
my love
i heard you

your dagger eyes
made it abundantly clear
when they said to me,
"so? i am a woman who doesn't repent"
i met your gaze with the silence of
one who can only open her heart
because

if, in its opening
my heart can still feel remorse at
having a hand in any other's suffering
then, i can wholly own
all of my joy
all of my sorrow
without ever asking anyone else
especially you
to pay

- the sleepypianist