I was saying the other day that "I didn't mean to" was the most unforgivable of phrases because it seemingly negates all blame - well - I had a break-through insight of my own behavior and that I said something that was taken the wrong way. Results:

 

The Non-Excuse
I didn't mean to
is a cruel slap
that stings my face
every time.

Does anyone believe
I didn't mean to
is salve for
words and actions
gone bad,
as if calling names
or leaving somebody
waiting on a
curbside in the rain
is made okay
with I didn't mean to.

The person who says it
must be forgiving himself
assuming in the saying
that all is forgiven.

But that phrase is not an eraser.
Nothing can not be unmeant
except
when unkind words
or snubs get away from me,
turn my friends and
would-be lovers into dots
on the horizon.
Only then is it okay to say
I didn't mean to.
Anne Silver
 

See also: ADD: Not an excuse . . . but a difference

 
 Balance Check's Five Essential ADD/ADHD Books List
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Copyright 1998, 2004 Charles K. Kenyon (HTML), Copyright 1998, Anne Silver (poem) all rights reserved.