First appeared in Samford University’s Sojourn Magazine (Fall 2012, Vol. XVX)
Sometimes,
when all is right,
I carry the past
in my pocket.
It stings, yet I hold.
It lies, yet I listen.
Then I consider
the mighty pine,
who does not suffer
its needles
forever...
shedding them
like a winter coat,
littering the ground
with its hair,
yet it carries on...
All should learn
from the past,
taking its lessons
with haste.
However, in this
prickly proverb,
one should learn
from the pine, as I,
and not carry the past
with you.