Past Acquaintance

 

Past acquaintance

 

Past acquaintance, wherever you may be,

If you’re reading this, allow me to say,

Profusely and with all sincerity:

Sorry for causing you, back in the day,

Physical and psychological pain;

I was an ignorant boy, immature,

And if I could have my youth back again,

In light of the grief I made you endure,

I’d treat you now with compassion in mind,

Not be a bully who preys on the weak,

And now the bulk of my years are behind,

I’m far more inclined to offer my cheek,

Aspiring to be the kindest of men;

I’m not the same person I was back then.

 

I read of a German boy; seventeen,

When Nazi lies were regarded as truth;

If all teenagers are equally green,

Can we forgive him the crimes of his youth?

There’s no comparison, many protest,

But when you look at it, can you be sure?

Certainly, defiance would have been best,

When persecution was passed into law,

But who’d be a martyr, when a mere child?

Let alone a brainwashed brutalised one;

Now ninety four, arrested and reviled,

The past atrocities can’t be undone;

Should then recipients of his abuse

Consider his youth a valid excuse?