It is penance, 
cutting through this
thorny mire,
20 years of
combining and saving.

On day 39 everything begins to
look like trash, the pile 
seems to be growing not
dwindling.

Our pathologies revealed by
our choices- what we save
what we believe we might need and
what we accept we must give or
throw away.

Vows on paper, 
advice from loved ones, 
laughing photos that
don’t show the
lonely nights 
we had when we
got home.