Do Not Linger

Do not linger by the edge of the forest
of your mind.
Do not stare into the abyss of its gnarled trees and dark paths.
You might forget the sun above if you do, and the birds singing
by your side.

Do not watch the shadows gathering by that forest at night.
Resist the smell of past sorrows and regrets as you
teeter by its sickening call.
Do not try to remember all that happened to you there,
or might happen still if you but heed its whispers.

The monsters in that forest were there long before you
and will be there yet when you are but a memory of
a melancholic tune buried where you cannot hear.
Do not linger where past tears might drown your path
you still need to explore.

There are no answers to be found, no healing to occur,
no redemption brought to you who search so desperately.
Do not linger by the edge of the forest of your mind.
Turn around, walk away, with measured confidence
and pride. You have done all you can if you made it this far.

Do not linger, lest the nightmares there show up in your days
and no amount of vigilance keeps the ghosts where they should stay.
Sing out loud, bow and arrow close at hand, to track and kill
the screams hiding where your feet were almost touching ground.
Laugh out loud, then run, run, and leave the past and its ghouls behind.

Trudi Ralston.
November 9th, 2015.