The Olive Branch
A poem on forgiveness
Forgiveness sets you free, so they say, but this is easier said than done. We all know that some things can be impossible to forgive.
Still, forgiveness releases us. While a person who forgives anything may seem a tad generous, accomplishing it breaks open the shackles of hatred and anger. It takes a lot of unnecessary energy to be angry.
We have come to the part of the year when forgiveness becomes a precious gift for the person we are forgiving and ourselves. Let's extend the olive branch for us.
The olive branch extended
Unwraps vines from hands and feet
All released, broken cords amended
Branch of olives from hands so giving
May seem at once too kind
When crows grasp, a misgiving
To bring branch forward, hands will ache
With all-encompassing pain
Knowing the wounded soul at stake
Branch of steel breaks apart
Shackles that resent
Made of copper, resilient, hard
Release from bonds of steel, relief
No tears of wrathfulness
Shudders of grief
Pardon from the branch of olives
Unties the vines of hate that bind
Soothes the soul as a gift
Gift given so all may live.
About the Creator
Michelle Liew Tsui-Lin
Hi, i am an English Language teacher cum freelance writer with a taste for pets, prose and poetry. When I'm not writing my heart out, I'm playing with my three dogs, Zorra, Cloudy and Snowball.
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'20/20'
"Do It Again" the track that would ultimately open the Beach Boys final album on Capitol Records which was released on February 10th 1969 had originally been released as a single in August of 1968. The track was the first of many post-Pet Sounds era throwbacks to the early Beach Boys sound which would become continually more cliched and eventually lead the Beach Boys to the level of self-parody they would eventually succumb to in the 1980s while their closest contemporaries The Beatles nearing the end of their run in 1969 would go on to be viewed as the most influential band of all time. However, the song itself is not bad on its surface, and it opens with a futuristic sounding (for 1969) drumbeat captured by then-Beach Boys engineer Stephen Desper using tape delays on the drums performed by Dennis Wilson and John Guerin. The song has been re-recorded numerous times over the years on various Beach Boys-related projects most notably the 2011 re-recording at Capitol studios featuring the five surviving Beach Boys at the time backed instrumentally by various members of both the Brian Wilson Band and Mike Loves touring "Beach Boys" to promote the then upcoming Beach Boys 50th Anniversary reunion tour in 2012. The hammering and power drill sound at the end of the song was an excerpt from a track called "Workshop" that was to be a part of the uncompleted "SMiLE" album.
By Sean Callaghan7 days ago in Beat
Comments (10)
⚡♥️⚡
Wonderful words that we should all take notice of
This poem is full to the brim with counter-cultural wisdom which we all need to practise. Well deserved Top Story!🤩
This is a really beautiful and thoughtful poem. Happy to subscribe to your work.
I will try to forgive others more easily.I need peace in my heart. Alotof emotions came .Good job Michelle (shanti).
Your poetic exploration of forgiveness is like a profound journey. As Maya Angelou wisely said, "Forgiveness is the greatest gift you can give yourself." Your words beautifully echo that idea. On a lighter note, extending that olive branch seems almost as challenging as convincing a cat to take swimming lessons – tricky but potentially life-changing!
"Gift given so all may live." Interesting line. Congrats on Top Story!
Well done! Keep pushing forward with your excellent work—congrats!
Nahhh, I'm too petty for this, so not gonna extend the olive branch. Not gonna accept if they extend to it either. They burned the bridge while I was still standing on it. So yeah. But please don't mistake me, I loved your poem. It was beautiful!
Forgiveness is hard. Good poem, Michelle.