regret

you wrote the letter asking forgiveness,  

a mailbox in Canoga Park sheltered the opening 

what's to forgive...

i am yours-- 

you are my one and only

still, I threw the letter away 

the humiliation was eight years old, 

scabbed over, healing nicely

we never spoke of the incident or the letter

i didn't have what it takes to go back

that was then,

and now you're gone

i wish I had written an appropriate response

...

To err is human, to forgive, divine. 

Alexander Pope