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      June 15, 2022The LightJim Peterson

      for Harriet

      You have done everything
      There is nothing left to do
       
      Your wrongs are now right
      Your rights are still right
      You can let go now
       
      Let go of your eyes
      that have seen too much
      and too little,
      your hands that have played
      the strings, the keys,
      the skins of animals
      stretched tight over the drums
       
      Let go of the horses,
      the loving of them,
      the training, riding them
      to victories and losses,
      standing with them
      in midnight pastures
      full of cool breezes
       
      Let go of your face
      you pressed so often
      into your own hands
       
      Let go of your tongue,
      the taste of food,
      the taste of words
       
      Let go of your voice
      that rode the breath
      of your songs
       
      Let go of your knees, elbows,
      shoulders, belly, genitals
       
      Let go of your feet
      No need to stand on them
      or see them or touch them again
       
      Let go of your hair, skin,
      beauty, ugliness, scent
       
      Let go of your heart
      its love and its hate and its fear
      Let go of your friends
      and your enemies,
      your mother and father,
      your brothers and sisters,
      the assorted smiles you gave them
       
      Let go of your mind
      its thoughts, its hopes, its dreams,
      its attitudes, its knowledge,
      its assumptions, its underlying
      beliefs, its overbearing beliefs,
      Let go of every one of them
      They won’t help you now
       
      Let go of your dog
      who lies at the foot of your bed
      She studies every labored breath you take
      I will keep her safe
       
      Let go of me
      who sits beside you
      holding your right hand
      where these words
      fall out of me like leaves
       
      I want to go
      through that door with you
      but nothing and no one can do that
      You won’t miss us anyway
      when you get there
       
      There is nothing more to do
      Nothing all day and all night
      Nothing under the sheets
      Nothing within the mirror
       
      Everything has been said
      Except this
      When you get there
      do not be distracted
      Go into the light
       
      And this
      Be at peace
      I love you
      I know you love me
       
      You are ready for this
      This is the time
      Go into the light
      Be at peace
       
      You have let it all go
      It cannot hold you
      to this place any more

      from #75 - Spring 2022

      Jim Peterson

      “I started writing poems in high school because I couldn’t dance, sing, play an instrument, paint, or even whistle melodically, and I really wanted to be an artist of some kind. After writing for a while, I fell in love with it, though my poems were melodramatic and sentimental. Now, I’m writing poems to celebrate the life I shared with Harriet, to purge myself of my sorrow and grief over her illness and death, and to shed light on the long healing process. She still teaches me.”

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