Up Ahead

To release, to absolve
To forget,
To reclaim a lineage

To know that there's a place
waiting down this path
past the thistles growing
along the road's edge
past the burrs
that hitch to my pants

To reclaim a lineage

Reconciling rants,
walking up a mountain trail
with a bandana hanging
from a pocket, leap frogging
rocks, swimming in a lake
still cold from melting snow

To pardon
the past
To reclaim a lineage

To loosen the stories,
untie their strings
and let go