Sorry, I Must Have Forgotten

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedThe teachers forgot how to teach.
The police forgot how to police.
The pastors forgot how to preach.
The doctors forgot how to heal.

The cashiers forgot how to cash-up.
The leaders forgot how to lead.
The directors forgot how to wrap-up.
The managers forgot how to manage.

The farmers forgot how to sow.
The fishermen forgot how to fish.
The gardeners forgot how to grow.
The cooks forgot how to cook.

The students forgot how to learn.
The academics forgot how to think.
The dreamers forgot how to yearn.
The readers forgot how to read.

The children forgot how to play.
The parents forgot how to parent.
The worshippers forgot how to pray.
The soldiers forgot how to fight.

The lovers forgot how to date.
The knowers forgot how to know.
The artists forgot how to create.
The poets forgot how to rhyme -

Oh, I said I’d do something for you?
Sorry, I must have forgotten.

Sorry, I Must Have Forgotten - A Poem by Tom Shaw

Music: Sergey Cheremisinov - Labyrinth

I’m fascinated by all the wisdom and knowledge we’ve lost to time - and the knowledge that is kept from us. I’m fascinated by the wonderful cathedrals we have through the world and how a populous who was supposedly mostly illiterate peasants working on farmland were able to build them all.

I’m also concerned with the “forgetting” of who we are as living, breathing human beings. In the mechanisation of society, we’ve forgotten what it is to be accountable to another soul.

What I think we’re witnessing now is a painful rebirth of many of those ideas, mirrored in the renewed interest in those ancient arts of healing, energy and technology that have been lost to time.

This “remembering” is something I believe we can all commit to at some level in our personal lives. Let us remember who we are, forgiving and letting go of those moments in the past where we were negligent of our purpose.

And, to that effect, you can find a reprise of this poem exploring that exact idea of "remembering” below:

Sorry, I Must Have Forgotten (Reprise)

This “reprise” acts as a follow-up to a poem I shared over a year ago now. While it is not strictly required for you to read that piece before this one, it is highly recommended, and you can do so by…

Tom ShawTom Shaw

Thank you for taking the time to read this piece. I hope it sparked something within you.

With gratitude,

Tom

More Like This

Production Line Sonnet

Tom ShawTom Shaw

The Badger's Path

Savaging its way with gnarling shrieks, the badgering is upon the woods once more. With the might of all the world’s armies, any plant or rodent crossing on his path is a target for nuclear detonatio…

Tom ShawTom Shaw

Lament of a Dying Dragonfly

Tom ShawTom Shaw