this weight

finally
I set the weight down.

I've been carrying it for so long
that at times
I've forgotten that
it's on my back.

at the shore
I undo the straps,
pull it off my shoulders,
release it from my body.

my muscles ache.

my skin is scarred
and bruised
from the weight of so
many years
and miles carrying this
burden alone.


I have gone nowhere with
it and I am back to where
I started.

I place it
on the sand, in the sun,
before the relentless
ocean.

there is no blame.
no regret, no sorrow
or shame.
but it's finished.
I leave the weight
and walk away.

I don't look back.