Light waning
Over the water,
Small waves quietly
Washing over pebbles,
Screaming at the
Injustice,
The trees listen.
Trying to avoid doing
Something that really
Needs to be done,
An uncomfortable itch
That doesn’t go away.
Busying oneself with
Distractions,
Reminders unabating,
Relentless in their
Power to unsettle,
Unstoppable until
Properly addressed.
They thought the move
Would resolve everything,
That their lives would
Shift in some wondrous
Direction, all problems
Left behind, entrenched
Patterns eradicated,
Complete transformation through
A simple change of scenery.
It never had before,
History being what it is,
Past behavior a reliable
Predictor of the future.
Daunting but necessary,
Sometimes things need
To be shaken up,
Moved from where they
Have been all this time,
Gathering dust,
Helping no one do anything
But remain in place,
Atrophying,
Wondering what happened,
Not doing anything
About it.
Mr. Robin
Comes by to visit.
He looks at me,
I wonder what
He’s thinking.
It doesn’t matter,
I’m just glad
He’s here,
My little bird friend.
Parts of me,
My history,
Strewn about in
Different places,
Unrecognized by
Anyone else,
Fragments of a
Bygone time,
Vivid in my mind only.
A heavy sigh,
How it all passes.
In this family
We keep secrets,
Protect oppressors,
Condone behaviors
That cause
Lasting damage,
Pretend everything
Is perfect,
Scornfully reject
Ideas that might
Make things better,
Never growing,
Just maintaining.
Sitting in the airport,
It dawns on him
That he needs to stop
Trying to be someone
He’s not,
Move beyond the persona
He’s carefully devised
To avoid facing his fears and
Pursuing his dreams.
He hears the boarding call
As he walks away.
He could get very
Angry about the situation
But chooses instead to
Wish the object of
His contempt well and
Move on with his life.
Sometimes, oftentimes,
It’s just better to
Let things go and
Heal the world in
Some small way.
