Around a fire
We gather
Each version of ourselves
From the years gone by

Joined by all the souls
Who partnered to create pain
Before we knew
How to protect ourselves

The fire exists
To hold what we could not

One by one
We read a slip of paper
Containing a fragment
Of pain from the past

Into the fire it goes
Establishing the boundary
We didn’t know we needed
Long ago

With hand over heart
We feel the roots of sadness
Planted in our souls
Begin to recede

Something new has begun
That can’t yet be seen
With a hint of hope
For what’s to come

The fire flares
As we thank each flame
For carrying a weight
We have carried for too long

No longer ours to hold
They waft into the heavens
Little did we know
They were never ours at all

Tomorrow’s first light
Welcomes a new beginning
A heart reclaimed
For hope and love and…

More

An original poem by Barrett Brooks
Written February 2024

© 2025
…but you may share this work without alteration in small group settings
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Featured photo by Guido Jansen on Unsplash