Burn it all away
Cleaning out history
Going through drawers
Cabinets, files, desks
Basement boxes
Closets and more
Finding notes and writings
From so long ago
I barely remember context
Viewing biological artifacts
That no longer serve
Blowing off dust
Dead bugs and spiders
Photos before and after changes
Photos of appearances
From so long ago
What do I do with photos of
My families’ lives
That begin before
The 1930’s
Given to me to pass along?
Is there a heart-filled
Storage house available?
Or, rather do I throw away
Tangibles
No longer present
No longer needing to explore
What happened then
(Enough time and energy has
Been devoted to the past
Excavating history
Throughout my life)
Discarding pieces into the ground
To be recycled as I release
So many energies
Back to the earth
To the skies
To the water
Exfoliating and excreting
So much stuff
These symbols of
Long and full lives
No longer needing to be visually
Memorialized except in my
Heart and mind
Body and soul
Or, rather, should I hang onto
This part and that part
Screening out the tragedies
Keeping the good times?
I hear:
Burn it all away
Create space, empty out
Ashes to ashes
Cleansing while not denying
Or avoiding
Having acknowledged and
Accepted these experiences
While living in the present
More fully, no strings attached
No umbilical cords
Tying me to what once was
During my former life here
Preparing for the New Earth
Facing the void
Wandering down into the caves
Unearthing, and then
Transforming what was into
What is now
