I liked you, even loved you, from afar
I felt I had known you before
In my mind, that cabin in the woods
A cruel, ridiculing father
Brown eyes filled with tears
A boy too sensitive and kind to kill a deer
Was I the disapproving one
Or the other too weak to speak?
Equally a sin against a gentle child of God
Haunted by the memory of your pain-filled cries
Unaware I’d have a chance one day
To heal, and be healed, from the sorrow I caused
Now to hug you dearly as a lost child
And hear you whisper, “I’m hugging you back”
To have you ask for an embrace I couldn’t give then
And feel your love radiate back to me
To say, “I love you” and hear you answer softly, “I understand”
I didn’t know
Photo Credit: Copyright: mizinatanya / 123RF Stock Photo