Literally Shredding the Past to Feed My Future: a semi-poem
In my basement were boxes of old papers.
Documentation of a marriage now dead.
Remnants of a past riddled with mistakes, hurts and memories that I don’t need cluttering my heart anymore than I need this physical junk.
They take up space, wasting precious real estate in the rooms I live in.
The past doesn’t need this much of my present.
Throwing it all away as it was would be a loss, a further drain on my time even just to haul it to the bin and to the curb.
The past should prepare the way for my future.
So I shredded the paper, a bit at a time.
Some went to the compost worms directly, for them to chew and eat and create black gold for the garden.
Most went directly to the yard as garden mulch, protecting plants against the coming winter frosts and to break down, sending nutrients back into soil.
In this way the past — the sometimes horrible, scarring past — feeds my future.
Not everything can be used productively — some must be thrown away and forgotten.
But, sometimes trash can be put to good use.
Sometimes it can protect our present.
And improve our chances for a better, more fruitful tomorrow.
