Layers for the Future

On a whole my life has been just fine,
But life is not a blend;
The good, the bad and in between
Are layered end to end.

I cannot change a single whit
Of one mistake I made;
No matter how much good I do,
The bad will never fade.

Errors are forever;
Shame is never cured,
But efforts to do better
Help it to be endured.

The past is gone and changes not,
But the future’s clean and free
For piling up some layers
Of a happy, sin-free me.

I’d rather walk on better streets
Than those I trod of yore
Though I know old muddy footprints
Still lead toward my front door,

For perhaps when I am gone
Some people will recall
That when all was said and done,
I wasn’t bad at all.

Edwina Williams