Wherein You Have Offended

We're also on the cusp of entering the ten days of teshuvah,, wrote Rachel, the ten first days of the month of Tishri during which it's customary to seek forgiveness from anyone one has wronged in order to approach Yom Kippur with a clean slate. If I have offended in the year now ending, please forgive me? (Seriously, if anyone has bones to pick with me, please reach out and let me know so that I can do whatever I am able to make amends.)

You have offended against my vanity,
By loving me despite my faults.

You have offended against my suffering,
By understanding me.

You have offended against my prejudice,
By loving my enemies and your own.

You have offended against my tears,
By drying them.

You have offended against my glibness,
By taking complicated things as they are.

You have offended against my loneliness,
By touching me when I was most outcast.

You have offended against my darkness,
Like a broken hydrant, shedding light;

You have so offended, Rachel, that I doubt
You can ever make amends.