what to leave and what to take

and how much how little

how soon or too late

you never know what you'll need

you hang on the something for years

and say the hell with it

then a month later you find you'd had kept it

for just this situation

but just that thinking is expendable

along with the junk we toss

and wondering later whether a diamond

is lurking in that mound

we were too careless to retrieve

how many ways we bind ourselves

how many ways show too much cautious

then throw all caution aside

and wind up hip-deep in shit

or acting stupidly out of frustration

or sitting in front of your flaming accident

dumbfounded that you screwed up yet again

oh I will not hock you

at least not today

I'm too aware at this moment of some

of my own 'dunce-cap' moments

and would be more of a fool

than I am if I were to say anything

it's always too close to the bone

always too tight a noose

we loop around our own necks

blaming everyone else

for our miscalculations

and when you get one huge group of humanity

doing the same thing

well you know there's bound to be trouble

of some kind

so we pick and choose among our blues

raging one moment and strangely calm the next

one part of mind swearing repentance

while another part says why bother

when consequences ruins all ways forward

and grace is too weak to allow amendment

and happy clear to toss the dross

happy to be unencumbered if only for a few moments

in active contemplation of

what to leave and what to take

what to do and where to go...

Content (c) 2008-2011 Philip Milito.