The final spark

Smoke billows with the last stitch of clothing burned

The flame in the pit is high and wide

Upward go the lessons learned

From all the burning items inside

Dresses, shoes, books, and underwear

The final remnants of the year just passed

My eyes begin to burn and tear

For all that was never meant to last

Glowing embers fade, the smoke subsides

The end of an era and a new one to commence

The process begins anew, a fresh ride

This absolutely made no sense

Repeating the purging year after year

Committing to the burn pit

Only to clutter again I feared

What was the sense of it?

Cleansed of all prior problems and sins

Giving myself a fresh start

Knowing I would have to do it again

Left a burning in my heart

For now, I felt so free of the past

New clothing and items I would buy

Still, I knew this joy would not last

And I began to cry

Personal items burned, to be replaced

Memories reduced to ash

The past I was not going to chase

My actions were deliberate, not rash

Goodbye to the old and in with the new

This annual cleansing was not a game

The reality hit me out of the blue

Part of me was extinguished with the last flame