POETRY / PROMPT
Clearing the Shelves
Sky Collection Prompt #31: Cycles of Darkness
A serpent shedding and discarding old and roughened skin,
I clear away the debris on both outside and within,
to start again afresh, reborn, all shiny and pristine,
and give my grey and tarnished self a bold new healthy sheen.
And yet there is a lot of me that’s lost along the way,
for in my flesh and mind is left an imprint of each day
collected, sometimes curated, more often kept a mystery;
a museum of the Self that holds the archives of my history.
There are some shiny trophies I’ve collected o’er the years,
but with them also I’ve amassed a wealth of pain and tears.
Their purpose served, these gloomy trinkets sit amongst the treasures,
hallmarks of times of darkness amid mem’ries of great pleasure.
I cannot keep them all with me, nor hoard them all forever;
to bear their weight through every day would be a fool’s endeavour.
And so instead I clear the decks and throw away the remnants
of times now passed and trials I’ve faced for which I’ve done my penance.
