Pieces of my Past

I have served a full life sentence
as a prisoner of who I am.
It seems that so many
have traps that hold me fast
and they still catch me from time to time.
I have blamed and fought them.
I have never really understood
why people
don't do the best they can
and learn to rise above.

There is a way to rise above.
I won't deny harm has taken place.
If I make my peace at last with those
who have hurt me.
Some call this wisdom.
Some call this grace.

Can I make my peace at last
with the pieces of my past?
Is there a way to rise above my past?
Can I forgive those
who hurt me?

I forgive my parents for who they can't be
and who they will never be.
I forgive those I fall in love with
for not being all I wanted.
The hardest part of all
I forgive myself
for not being everything I should have been so many years ago.
Time has transformed me
into this person
that you see before you.

There is a way to rise above.
I won't deny harm has taken place.
If I make my peace at last with those
who have hurt me.
I will grow from this.
Some call this wisdom.
Some call this grace.

Can I make my peace at last
with the pieces of my past?
Is there a way to rise above my past?
Can I forgive those
who hurt me?

When I make my piece
with the pieces of my past
and let go
when I forgive.
I will look back
and see that those things made me who I am today.