the parting of the ways in poetry

No one gets full custody of memories but sometimes you wish they did
and you could either hang onto every one or make orphans of them all.
Vis-a-vis the “half empty/half full” I’ve decided that my answer is
“the glass is too damned small”.
No matter how much water there is or is not in life’s cup
the sad thing is there isn’t just enough room for it all.
We ordered a venti and were given a tall.
So go on a driving tour.
Go to all the places where you’ve failed or things fell through
or people you wish were still part of your life are
go on a driving tour of the sites of your spiritual depantsing.
Go there and breathe in the new air and realize
those places are pretty beautiful. Reclaim yourself.
Take back the territory of your past.
Inhabit them with new experiences that will be good and will last.
You aren’t going to have less terrible places you’ve been
by staying on the run.
Stand somewhere for a while, have some fun.
I can’t imagine how many amazing things I would have missed out on
if I had gone and done something stupid like succeeding
I would’ve lost so much would have lost all of you
would have lost experiences beyond believing.
Some people will spend their lives running away to join the circus
but sometimes only after they find running away just too damned hard
they’ll find they’ve started up a circus in their own backyard.
No one gets full custody of anything
some day you’ll be dead and someone else will think they own it
there will always come along some other limited fool
who believe they’re the ones who own it.
Let go of the illusion that you have control
try your best and let the chips fall.
The glass seems maybe half-full
but really the glass of life is just too small.
Live with gusto without shame until the grave makes the call.