“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. ” (F. Scott Fitzgerald)

The past is prologue so they say

It informs our present and our future. 

It makes me wonder if there is a way

To escape the past and its pain. 

Some memories warm the heart, 

Others make anguish live again. 

There were times so very warm, 

Of unconditional affection, 

Then unspeakable harm. 

There are scars you cannot see, 

But you must accept them

If you are to love me. 

I want to laugh, to love, to live, 

To find life’s passion with you, 

Taking all that life can give. 

It is hard for me to trust. 

The past holds me back, 

But go forward I must

Battered by fate but still brave, 

And still fighting the current, 

Not the past’s slave.

I am what life made me, 

The sum of all parts, 

The ones who have played me, 

And all the broken hearts. 

But there are moments of bliss

Making the journey worthwhile. 

Yes, your precious kiss

And being held in your arms, 

Trusting that here

I am safe from all harms.