And Burn The Rest

Contributor: Rodney Horne

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Take this pain,
this fear
this anguish,
these worries,
this hate,
this cold dread

and burn it.

Burn it all.
Heap it in a pile,
Cover it in gasoline,
Light it

Burn it to the ground.

Stoke the fire,
Make it strong,
Make it hot, powerful, unquenchable.
Throw everything that hurts you

into the fire.

Watch it burn,
Rejoice, because you are free
The weight is lifted
No longer crushing your shoulders
No longer driving you into the dirt
No longer cracking the foundation

of your soul.

Throw away the thorns
That prick you as you carry them.
You are no martyr.
There is no reason
To endure the slings and arrows.
Look instead to your outrageous fortune,
Look instead to those things
That make you happy,
That do not hurt you.

And burn the rest.

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Dr. Rodney Horne lives on a hillside with his wife and his two cats. Having retired from technical writing, he has been published in Neometropolis Magazine, The Opinion Magazine, and Armitage Hand (AHNR).