A Wigwam for a Goose's Bridle

Tis an odd paradox, jarring,
to believe so whole-heartedly in redemption,
in penitence, confession,
forgiveness and reconciliation,
second, third and hundredth chances,
to remind myself and others 
the tenets of Portia’s speech:
that our very prayers for mercy
teach us to render it unto others.
And yet to find myself, time and again,
emulating not the eloquent virtue
of the heiress advocate, but instead,
both the pride and the prejudice
portrayed by a bedraggled Colin Firth
emerging from the lake.