Stealing Lines ~NaPoWriMo2020 Day 8

 

You remember too much…

Why hold onto all that?

And I said,

where can I put it down?

It is a heavy load

that doesn’t seem to lighten over time

Though I’ve tried burning it, burying it,

and boxing it away

And anyway,

how do I tell you how I got here without getting trapped in the past?

­

After all

I am alive only by accident

I’ve tried and failed to end the anguish

to end me

more than once

­

Failure has been a constant companion

And somehow

in this land of sadness and shadow

I find myself again,

I am no shadow.

Though there is a shadow

starting at my feet.

I’ve stitched it on

like Wendy did for Peter

but still

under the seams runs the pain

 

~Melanie Thomason

04/08/2020

Stolen Lines honoring these fabulous poets:

–Richard Siken “How do I tell you how I got here without getting trapped in the past?”

–Anne Carson “You remember too much, my mother said to me recently. Why hold onto all that? And I said, Where can I put it down?” And “Under the seams runs the pain.”

–Sylvia Plath “After all I am alive only by accident.” And “I find myself again. I am no shadow Though there is a shadow starting from my feet.”