I hold no ill will toward you,

As so many years have passed,

Softening the blows,

Physical and figurative,

Mending the wake of destruction,

Which you so callously sowed,

With the passing of each scarred soul,

The shameful becomes legend,

Stories told…perhaps exaggerated,

By progeny twice or more removed,

Your only legacy,

Undeserving of even this remembrance,

You’ve blackened our name,

Are we to forgive you,

That is for God to judge,

Are we to pity ourselves,

No…for we are stronger than you knew,

With sadness we look back,

Cursing your existence,

Mourning your departure,

Loving you as father,

Despising you as man.

~~ D. R. DiFrancesco ~~