Begin Again

all that time
spent
all these efforts
wasted
all those costs
sunk
weighing us
down
yoked to our
ankles
pulling us
deeper
into that feeling
of coming too far
to give up
now

mistakes made
relationships
turned
a silent series of
small slips sideways
into this dark
place, but –
there’s no rule
demanding that all
that swallows
the past
gets to devour
our future
too

so, begin again

like the sun
cracking
our horizon open
each morning
like winter’s
snowpack
lowering her
icy shoulders
giving herself over
to spring
again

there’s always a
choice
in this beat between
here and there
between this
and the next
this next moment
these next words –
a precious chance
to stop
take a breath
and simply begin
again