Backtracks

At some point, I will pick up

where I left off. This sorrow

can wait ’til tomorrow. I’ll get

to it later. I don’t want to waste

time getting lost in my mind.

I must be stuck in-between

the problems I left behind

and the trouble I have yet to find.

I can’t run from them forever.

I will slow down, and these

thoughts will catch up to me:

the ones that won’t let me be.

I will push them to the side;

sweep everything under the rug,

but some things that are out

of sight aren’t always out of mind.

I can save it ’til later, but I would

not be doing myself a favor.

If I don’t face it now, then I will

never know what it’s like to take

control my fate. Ignoring misery

is like running in place. It might

be time to turn around and walk

toward the demons in my wake:

the ones I wish I didn’t create.

They won’t let up, so why

would I? I will take what I have

learned and vanquish the ghosts

of my past, so I don’t have to live

in fear. Instead of heavy footsteps

inching closer, I want to hear

the birds sing, the wind blow,

and the rain hit the fallen leaves.

Now or later; it makes a difference.

I have a road to take: a choice to

make, and if I keep running away,

the pain I carry is here to stay.