IRC-Galleria

I:


a wise man once said:
"life is an adventure in forgiveness."
now you might rank bungee jumps
off a bridge in new zealand
or bachelor parties in vegas
a few notches higher
on the adventure ladder.
but think about the risks involved.
you could climb
to the mountaintop of attrition,
only to get shot down by a victim
who refuses to forgive.
think about the rewards.
a chance to heal those nasty wounds,
reconcile with someone you love.
now that i think about it,
forgiveness might knock bungee jumps
and bachelor parties off the charts.


II: (schillinger brothers)


andrew: i'm at a chinese restaurant.
my fortune cookie says:
"whoever opts for revenge should dig two graves."

hank: i hate chinese food.

andrew: shut the fuck up, hank.

hank: "shut the fuck up, hank."

andrew: my brother's an annoying little brick,
but i forgive him.
why?
because we only get two choices:
forgive or die a slow death.
one of them studies doctors do,
shows that carrying around
the baggage of anger and bitterness
can put you at risk for mental illness,
for depression and anxiety,
as well as strokes,
heart disease and heart attacks.

hank: who knew?
forgiveness is good for your health.


III: (schillinger brothers)


andrew: so if forgiveness is so good for us,
why don't we do it more?

hank: same reason i don't eat tofu.
it tastes like shit.

andrew: the are two reasons we hold back.
first, accountability.
long as we're still in pain,
we need someone to blame.
what can you do with all that pain
if you've let the bastard off the hook?
second, identity.
without this rage consuming me,
without this resentment,
this bitterness,
who am i?


IV: (schillinger brothers)


hank: seventy times 77.
jesus said that's how many times
you're supposed to forgive
your brother.

andrew: hank and i are still working
on seven.
meanwhile, an innocent man
nailed to a cross with iron spikes
says while dying:
"forgive them, father.
they not know what they do."
kind of raises the stakes
for the rest of us, huh?


V: (schillinger brothers)


andrew: who's the hardest person of all
to forgive?
oneself.
the demons inside,
they laugh at the thought.

hank: when you forgive some other guy,
he's not likely to turn you down
and say, "fuck that."

andrew: trying to forgive yourself, though,
it's "fuck that" all the time.

hank: ten years go by,
you still can't let yourself off the hook.

andrew: fifteen years, 20, 40.
you gonna take that grudge
against yourself to the grave?

hank: you gonna carry it for eternity?


VI:

a man stands in a cemetary
reading a letter he wrote,
finally forgiving his long-dead father.
the mother of a girl
killed by a drunk driver
is wracked with fantasies
of retaliation.
your boyfriend begs you
for one more chance.
you say to mirror
you're done hating yourself.
but you know you're not.
maybe instead of "forgive and forget."
it should be "forgive and remember."
remember that you might wake up
tomorrow
and have to forgive all over again
and again and again,
the way the heart keeps beating
like a drum.
forgive. i can't. you can
forgive. forgive. i can't
you can.
forgive.