they told my ex-wife
that they were sorry
she was knocked up
by a man like me

still a boy who played
video games and music
chased big dreams
that someone as poor 
as us
wouldn’t ever achieve
how I went to college
so I could avoid a real job
bound to inheret 
his father’s drinking habits

they’re still in the same places
doing the same things 
with small mind and big false fears

tonight I allowed them through memories
to hold them to the light to see
if any of them were worth keeping
placed them in the shelves of memory
between tall stalks of corn
that I used to hide in
and the oak deep in the woods
with a rope swing

and I’m glad
to be rid of them
there’s no room for clutter