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Reconciliation
by Ines M. Weber

It was all over, you were down and out.
Head hanging low, heart pounding hard
You didn't fight it, it was well deserved
You thought
Alone and wrapped in shame you took the road
Redemption Lane, that's what it's called.

Barbed wire, nails and images of gray
Heartache and sorrow found along the way
You didn't fight it, it was well deserved
You thought
The world was watching, stern, cold faces
You were the guilty one, the only one, in all their cases.

Decades went by, you paid, and paid, and paid
With dignity, and blood, and agony
You didn't fight it, it was well deserved
You thought
Self-righteousness of others is expensive
With every breath you struggled to accept it.

I met you on an early summer day
Escaping sorrow, fate brought me your way.
“You couldn't fight it, no one can”
You said
You shared with me from everything you had
Yet all the while you were keeping down your head.

I loved you D, you couldn't understand it.
You felt ashamed, you just could not accept it.
“I don't deserve it, I've caused too much harm”
You said,
That little David star lay clinched there in your hand
Black, red and gold the scarf around my neck.

In time I learned to love you as you truly are
Warm, generous, and often oh, so shy
And then that day which I shall not forget
You put that star around my neck
“And now something for you”
I said.
In his hand I placed my scarf of black, gold and red
“Because you too deserve this”
I said.