Yesterday was 03/14, which is also known as Pi Day. Pi Day is an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π. Pi Day is observed on March 14 since 3, 1, and 4 are the first three significant figures of π. I’m definitely not a whiz in math and I barely remember Pi, but I do love a delicious piece of pie…except when it is humble pie. I am sure we’ve all had to eat a piece of humble pie at some point and it does not taste very good as we try to choke it down. Maybe the memory of it being an unpleasant experience will prevent us from doing or saying things that lead us to that proverbial slice of humble pie in the future.
Remember when you were a little kid and you would chant “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me”? Well guess what? It’s not true. Words can and do harm, and sometimes they cause irrevocable damage. Have you ever had a moment where you said something, maybe directly to someone or under your breath, and instantly wished you could take it back? It is a helpless feeling when you realize there is nothing you can do, as your words float around in the atmosphere like little missiles targeting someone you care about. This happened to me recently, and resulted in this next poem. Similar to the woman in an earlier poem Reflections of the Day from this same book, (https://thepracticalpoet.com/reflections-of-the-day-from-scatter-seeds-of-kindness/), I too had let little things creep up on me and steal my joy and my kindness, and this frustration grew inside of me until it came out in an aggressive and hostile way. Fortunately, unlike the woman in the poem, I did not witness a car crash to jolt me out of my own head, but the disappointment I saw on this person’s face was enough of a wake-up call. Anger can be a slippery slope, and once you start the descent downhill it is hard to regain your footing.
Hopefully, when you go through these hard times with someone and get to the other side, you come out stronger. Sometimes the words lead to deeper discussion to get to the root of the anger or frustration and to try to understand what prompted them to be spoken in the first place. In the end it can lead to a stronger bond between the two of you, but that is not always the case. Sometimes things cannot be worked out, as anger and resentment sets in for the person who was targeted, and guilt and regret for the person who spoke the words. All involved may carry these words around with them for a long time. I wrote about this previously; how memories can be heavy and a burden, in the poem The Weight of Memories (https://thepracticalpoet.com/the-weight-of-memories-from-scatter-seeds-of-kindness/). In order to unleash this burden, sometimes all we can do is go to the person, hat in hand, and offer our most humble and sincere apology and hope that it will be accepted. It may not be. We cannot control how someone will respond. All we can do is control our own actions, and sometimes that involves eating a little crow and admitting that we were wrong, and hoping for the best possible outcome so that we can move forward in peace.
Humble Pie
I’d like to send a sappy card
As a way to make amends.
And to let you know, deep in my heart,
I’m so grateful that we’re friends.
How lucky I am that you are such
A big part of my world.
I’m sorry for the words I used
When my thoughts became unfurled.
I’d love to travel back in time,
Or click Edit Undo.
I wish I could backspace, erase,
Those things I said to you.
I knew that I had gone too far
As my words began to fumble.
I could see when they sunk in for you,
And your face started to crumble.
In that moment, guilt and fear
Took place inside my soul,
As I pictured my life without you there
And I felt an endless hole.
We always hurt the ones we love;
Isn’t that what they say?
But how much can we push and push,
Before we push away?
We always hurt the ones we love;
Again that’s how it goes.
Yet still they seem to find the will
To remain as friends, not foes.
Do we deserve this second chance?
At times I’m not so sure.
There has to be a limit as to
How much they endure.
In moments of such tension
We feel that we are doomed,
As remorse rushes to the scene
To bandage up the wound.
But the heart forgives, when sometimes it shouldn’t
And things can be rectified;
As healing starts, and hugs take place,
And relief flows through inside.
A lesson learned; words can hurt,
And actions can destroy.
Feelings sometimes don’t bounce back,
And emotions are not a toy.
Sticks and stones may break the bones,
But words, they too can break;
And being careless with our words
Can lead to this mistake.
I am grateful for forgiveness
In ways I can’t define.
I realize I hurt you –
And I know I crossed a line.
I’ll treasure that forgiveness
Until the day I die.
I make a promise to not repeat,
As I digest my humble pie.
-K.A. Bloch-
