Let Go

I cast the box into the open flame,

Each relic sings a sorrow as it dies.

The smoke ascends — I do not speak its name.

These pieces once had power, sharp as shame,

A ribboned past wrapped tight in hollow lies.

I cast the box into the open flame.

A bear, a blanket — all tokens of that game,

That held me bound in grief I wore as guise.

The smoke ascends — I do not speak its name.

I fed the fire all that fed my blame,

Watched embers spark like stars in severed ties.

I cast the box into the open flame.

The ash falls soft. I do not feel the same.

I breathe again beneath the open skies.

The smoke ascends — I do not speak its name.

No longer tied to the ghost I claim,

I walk away as something in me dies.

I cast the box into the dying flame.

The smoke ascends — I do not speak its name.