Skeletons In My Closet

The skeletons in my closet
Are no secret to myself,
But they are working their way out.
Time and time again
They catch me by surprise
And turn everything wrong-side-up,
And upside-down.
Logic turns to liquid,
And righteousness to sinfulness.
When the world starts making sense again,
They show up
With their haunting laughter,
Taunting me with “I told you so”,
Leading me to that all-too-familiar friend
Anxiety.
Who I wish I’d never met.
One day extracts a smile
While another extracts my well-being.
You serve as a reminder
Of my capacity to get things wrong;
And my deep, regretful apology for that.
Please take the handcuffs off,
And loosen up the throat-hold.
Because the more the law-enforcing skeletons
Remind me of my guilt,
The more I hold myself in contempt.
Show me how to forgive myself,
As I have been forgiven.