Confession

It was easier

not to take

the bold, rushing,

fearsome drop

into the daring darkness

of self betrayal

for the wild ride

of coolness, boyfriends,

the rash pursuit of popularity

It was easier to be innocent

and not to hear the innuendo,

not to brave initiation

to the secret club

of those who left the safety net behind.

It was easier. It wasn’t better.

For years I was mercifully blind

to my lack of understanding of the world,

shielded from seeing 

my comfortable privilege

and my arrogance,

lulled to believing

my inexperience 

could somehow count as virtue

Now I see

Each of us is always 

reaching out for life.

Each thing, we’ve done

because it seemed best at the time.

We were impelled by the same force —

There is no right or wrong of it —

Each of us must cover all the ground

and each of us must be reclaimed

We each will fall,

we each will rise,

We’ll all come home accepted

in each other’s eyes.

©Wendy Mulhern

July 4, 2014