A POEM ON FORGIVENESS

 

            A POEM ON FORGIVENESS

Forgiveness is an essential quality of a noble person.  To feel offended by the wrong doing of somebody is a normal reaction.   But not to forgive the wrongdoer and to think of retaliation shows that they are ignorant of each other’s background.  

The title of the poem that follows is “To KNOW ALL IS TO FORGIVE ALL”. It is written by an American journalist Nixon Waterman (1859-1944).

“If I knew you and you knew me--

If both of us could clearly see,

And with an inner sight divine

The meaning of your heart and mine---

I’m sure that we would differ less

And clasp our hands in friendliness;

Our thoughts would pleasantly agree

If I knew you, and you knew me.

 

If I knew you and you knew me,

As each one knows his own self, we

Could look each other in the face

And see therein a truer grace.

Life has so many hidden woes,

So many thorns for ever rose;

The “why” of things our hearts would see,

If I knew you and you knew me. “

        

            According to a commentator the  poem “To know all is to forgive all” means understanding and knowledge can lead to forgiveness. If we have a deep understanding of someone’s circumstances, experiences, or struggles, we can empathise with them more fully and find it easier to forgive any wrongdoing or mistakes the may have made.”

 

            The key lines in the poem are: Our thoughts would pleasantly agree/If I knew you and you knew me.

                                                                                                                                                                                    *********

G.R.Kanwal

8^th March 2024