The beckoning

The past may always beckon you

Pulling you back

With tugs of feeling

Telling you things were better then

For moments you were happy

And the sun shone

In its bright domain

But you forget too

How shadows also fell

On the long lonely winter evenings

Reminding you of when

Life and love was stolen away

You could not make the move forward

Because of the deep wound in your sister’s heart

That was such a painful reminder

Of all you could gain

And how could you leave then?

The agony was entirely too great to bear

Then

Now you are older

More seasons have come and gone

And you have seen  the burnished gold of autumn

Turn to cold frosty winter

Within and without

On dark nights and days it felt

As though you could not survive another day

And yet you survived it all

Not merely as a survivor

For truely

There was some kind of infinite richness

Within the pain that you could not feel then

But realise now

Is this the reminder

That sometimes letting go is necessary

Grief is necessary

Tears are shed

As the price of passing over

The boatman comes for you

You won’t ever be fully ready

But slowly, deliberately and resolutely

You will climb on board

Reminding yourself

To carry all the memories in your heart

And not look back too long