An Ode to Forgiveness

And Then There Was a Rainbow

Forgiveness kicks us out of hell
Where we prefer to stay.
It’s warmer where the devils dwell,
But we are on our way.

Where shall we go?
We do not know.
We are, right now, and anyhow,
Kicked out to breathe a brighter day.

Text: Linked to dVerse Quadrille where De Jackson (aka WhimsyGizmo) is hosting and to Debbie Roth’s Forgiveness Fridays.  I am practicing odes, poems of praise, because his Thursday I will be featuring odes on dVerse Meeting the Bar.

Photos: “And Then There Was a Rainbow” by the author.

Author: Frank Hubeny

I enjoy walking, poetry and short prose as well as taking pictures with my phone.

92 thoughts on “An Ode to Forgiveness”

  2. Ha. We do tend to like it in hell.
    Forgiveness is quite humbling. Asking for it, and giving it.
    It really is a gift we give ourselves so that we can get to that
    fresher air.

    Odes. I will have to start brushing up.

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  3. Ha.. love the hint towards Thursday… there has to be a reward for reading carefully… actually up north hell was more a cold place, actually barely freezing so you where condemned forever to have wet feet…. please scorch me with some brimstone.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. It is absurd to hold grudges but emotionally I can see how that happens. It is not always easy letting go of them. I’m hoping something will kick me out if I every get comfortable. Thank you!

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  16. After living in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and way Upstate New York, I can confirm that hell is cold and snowy and, yes, there is eternal fire… but it doesn’t warm, or dry the soaking wool socks. Love the poem, Frank!

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  17. Great poem! It is hard to forgive. But harder on ourselves to hold the grudge. Because then we are negative and miserable. That person wins twice if we let that happen.
    I had a shirt in my teens that said: Heaven doesn’t want me and hell is afraid I’ll take over. 🙂

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  19. LoL! I had to laugh about this unceremonius treatment of hell. But it is true: we often prefer to suffer out of laziness or habit.

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    1. I was wondering today which hell is worse, one you want to get out of or one you don’t–assuming there is a way out and the outside is way better than hell itself. Thank you, Danik!

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  21. I dislike coming in late, but so it goes–life intervenes, as do health issues. Your message is part humor, part right on; always a good way to get the bitter pill to do down.

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  23. Frank, this is a fantastic ode to forgiveness. Isn’t it so true – we can get so comfortable in the familiar, I think a part of it (for me) is control, like I’m trying to control myself or the situation with judgment.

    Anyway, forgiveness is certainly a way to help us breathe the fresh air. I love what you wrote in one of your comments, how it can help us be in the brightness of reality. And the photo you included is gorgeous – it really matches the depth and freedom of forgiveness for me.

    Thanks for this awesome contribution for Forgiving Fridays! I’m happy to share it this week. 🙂 Have a great evening, Frank. Debbie

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    1. An ode would be any poem of praise in any form or free verse although there are some special forms people have associated with odes in the past. Forgiveness sets us free. Thank you, Namratha!

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  37. I love the first stanza. Not sure about the last line, but it does fit the theme. I was thinking of Fudo, Buddhist God of Hell, with his lasso to pull you out of Hell, and his whip to keep you from returning. LOL! In any way, a very intriguing poem, Frank.

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      1. Oh! Fudo. My favorite Buddhist! LOL! Didn’t think of him as bipolar, but now that you mention it….I think many Japanese Gods/Goddesses are such. LOL!
        Fudo is endlessly fascinating. I have written him in “Kimono” at the back of a parade of yamabushi. LOL! With his lasso and whip.

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  39. Missed this, the first time round. It’s great! I love the idea that it can be comfortable to hold onto guilt. I think you’re right. It makes us feel that we are doing something when of course we are not.

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