Guilt Will Not Let Him Be Free
Posted: Sunday, August 30, 2009
by David Pekrul
While feeding the squirrels and the birds,
I tried to get closer to hear what he said,
But couldn't hear all of the words.
For all I could hear was a whimper and whine,
Like one in distress and in pain,
He seemed like a man who was hurting inside,
But others thought he was insane.
"He's just an old man who's had too much to drink,
Or maybe he's losing his mind",
They scoffed and they ridiculed all they could see,
But never once tried to be kind.
The man started walking back home where he lived,
I followed a little behind,
And once again heard a small whimper and whine,
And wondered just what I would find.
As day turned to twilight and twilight to night,
I thought I could see a small fire,
And there in the distance I saw a crude shack,
And that is where he would retire.
I looked in the window and then I drew back,
For what I saw caused me to cringe,
A shadow was floating and waving around,
And hanging upon the door hinge.
A stiffened-up body, so cold and so dead,
But dressed in the finest attire,
The strangest of visions, but all I could think,
"What caused this poor soul to expire?",
The man with the whimper was watching him too,
A tiny small tear in his eye,
His look and expression once more made me ask,
"So why did this man have to die?"
And then as in answer to what I had thought,
The man with the whine pulled a gun,
I knew in an instant just what had occurred,
The old man had killed his own son.
There's no explanation for what he had done,
And none would be given to me,
While feeding the birds he will whimper and whine,
And guilt will not let him be free.
If this article is used in any publication, please send a copy of the publication to David Pekrul at
E-Mail:dpekrul@gmail.com
"Guilt will definitely not let you be free." I remember in my 20s when I misled a friend...A Friend...I outright lied to him. I could not face him for months. Everywhere I turned, the conscience was always taunting. Then I went to him with an apology. Then he said, "I knew you were lying, I wanted to see how long it would take you to grow up." Yes, I felt like a FOOL. We were still good friends (I only had one, he passed away 3 years ago.)A beautiful poem, thanks for the memories...smile...I never did that again.Yes, guilt can eat like a cancer. Thanks for sharing your experience.
Potent and powerful. Guilt will not turn loose except at the foot of the cross - how thankful we can be for that! MarijoChrist can take the guilt away, but we still need to reconcile with the one to whom we did the wrong. Thanks for your great comment, Marijo.
Well done David. Very powerful and moving.Thanks, Brianna. I wrote this quite some time ago, but didn't submit it because I didn't know how well it would be received. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Very moving poem. Thank you.Linda DThank you, Linda, appreciate you reading and commenting.