Baggage

by laurie howland

My bags are heavy

They tend to weigh me down

I have to walk a bit slower

Stopping every once in a while to rest

I think about dropping them

Of letting them go

And starting all over with new stuff

Replacing what they hold with better things

I know I could walk much quicker without them

A little less precarious

I know I would feel so much lighter without their weight

Even a bounce in my step

Or smile back on my face

But my bags are just too heavy

Yet, I clench them 

Hold on to them for dear life

I agonize over the burden they bring me

But still I walk forward 

Allowing their heaviness to drag me down

I feel as if I will never get there

Where ever there is

A place I hope where my bags will not be needed

Yet, maybe where they will have fulfilled some purpose

I no longer seek someone to help me with their weight

Someone who would share my baggage

Make my load lighter

For they only seem to make it heavier

I realize I need to carry them myself

To figure out how to lighten them

Or simply let them go…