Never again

Will the echoes of my past

Dampen the brightness of my future.

My wings,

Though still mending,

Are spread wide.

Progress, though once only an option,

Is now inevitable.

I pass valleys of memories

Over streams of doubt,

Through clouds of regret,

Slowly rising above all ill tempers,

Past bitterness

And toward the warm sunrise of hope.

I look back these last few moments only to extract

The lessons to guide, strengthen, and ensure that,

Come the day I embark upon a similar journey,

And as the pathways grow familiar,

I will be wise.

Pits that once ensnared will be avoided,

And wrongs once ignored will be confronted.

The strings of my heart, mind and spirit,

Once tangled in feud,

Will slowly conform, communicate and understand

That each of the three cannot and will not

Truly love without each other.

Now as I move,

Now as I soar,

As I purge my heart and open it once again

As the years progress, and as I rise and fall and rise once more,

I know that I am wiser,

That I am stronger

And that as I once again commit myself to another,

That I am today a new man

Built upon a sturdier rock,

A stronger foundation,

And a heart of gratitude

For the wonderful person you,

Whoever you may be,

Are

And the incredible people

That we,

Whenever our paths cross,

Will become.

-Victor Tinsdale