What can you make out of
old connections, letters from people
long lost track of? Is there value
in the warmth of their tone, the obvious
love they shared?

Is there a reason to hold on to words
whose context is long gone?
And is this related to hunger
that keeps coming back
however much I eat?

The past may be remembered or forgotten,
I can think of it with fondness or regret,
and maybe truly, all there is of it
is what I carry in my daily steps and breath.

©Wendy Mulhern
April 10, 2017