time forward

one would like to think
of time
as moving forward, as if
the past
could be left behind, but
not so.
we tend to drag
with us,
the dead, the lost,
the loved ones born
into our hearts a long
time ago.
it's movement to be sure,
but not towards
some clearing,
some peaceful field,
but to a smaller place,
darker and haunted,
stacked and crammed
with all
that we once feared.