Amnesty

By Wes Davis

Somebody hold me.

Somebody please.

I am just now emerging from a prison cell

I never knew I could leave.

Nobody told me,

or could it be

that I was simply never really listening?

Seems so hard to believe.

All was forgiven; it was over,

and I was allowed to go free.

To begin living in the open

where all of the fears

that had bound me for years

are now fading away from me.

Amnesty.

I see before me

a world in chains.

It’s bound by stubborn memories

held in bitter hearts --

settled scores to be won.

The same old story,

a curse remains,

but I won’t stop believing

that, for mercy’s sake,

it can still be undone.

Can you envision starting over,

where all are allowed to go free?

To begin living in the open,

where all of the times

we had counted the crimes

are now only a memory.

Amnesty.  

Copyright © 1999 Wes Davis