Washed Away--By Lynn White--Wales

Washed Away

Cool cleansing water running over me,
washing away my sins, my impurities,
Cleaning me up, getting rid of the villainy
and lack of chastity.
Absolving me.

But who’s to say they should be washed away
like the scruffiness of childhood innocence.
Who should judge these scents and tastes and sweats
of a life cleanly and clearly remembered.
What sins, what villainy?

I wished they could remain unwashed and pure
retaining their essence within my reach.
Hanging about me in my lived in face.
A testament to my life, an affirmation.
It didn’t take much water to remove them.
But I was already clean.
I can remember.

First published in Snapdragon “Your Wild And Precious Life”, September 2015

Lynn White lives in north Wales. Her work is influenced by issues of social justice and events, places and people she has known or imagined. She is especially interested in exploring the boundaries of dream, fantasy and reality. Her poems have been widely published.