The holding of a hand.
The hearing of a story.
The healing of a heart.
The beginning of a new
adventure toward no longer
allowing past pain
to control present and
future possibilities.
Holding the past,
or being held by it,
can offer a variety of
competent excuses.
Holding the past,
or being held by it,
can limit vision,
luring decisions toward
unnecessary limitations.
Holding the past,
or being held by it,
can control us.
But facing realities,
though deep and dark,
though bloody and sad,
gives us a chance
to change things,
to change how we
view things,
and to, then,
be changed ourselves.
Rather than holding on to
what holds us back,
let’s face the regrets
with the grace of release.
Instead of reliving
day by day by day by day,
let’s say today
the time is now
for the past chapter to end.
All future chapters can,
and will, be affected by
the previous tension,
but the plot must not be
depending on those stories
to guide it.
It must now
venture into new land,
new hands,
new hope for new days
as reality grins back
at the scarred and scared
face that somehow now
joins in the smile.
