He Was a Victim Too

He was a victim too,
My childhood verbal tormentor.

Who had history with my father and uncle.

It sounds worse than it is.

He did NOT touch me;

Physically or sexually abuse me;

I want to make that clear.

I would never claim that falsely. 

But since I was touched inappropriately,

I have that violation, 

And I have that anger.

Unfortunately, he got the brunt of it.

He did not know what he was doing.

He did not know what happened. 

Yes, he provoked at the wrong time,

But he had no idea what he was getting into. 

From my understanding,

His father never fully approved of him,

My uncle played jokes on him as a kid,

Which I'm told he - even then - provoked.

My uncle was (and is) ornery; 

They would never have gotten along. 

My father was a quite one,

And never did anything to stir trouble.

He is still a person,

Though he said some horrible things.

But don't we all want to be forgiven?

Help me, God, to forgive him, too.