Mourning Abandoned Paths

Memory affirms,
Memory reminds,
It takes us back,
To the landscapes of the past;
To glean and learn.

This brings back texture,
The ways our lives are colored;
With abandoned paths,
Buried by our realities,
Brushed aside with rationality.

We do not mourn this;
The person we did not get to be,
The life we did not get to lead.
We bury the hurt, the disappointment,
We see no need to grieve such a loss.

I am trying to honor the past,
To understand how I got here,
To kindly close the chapters,
That had no ending;
To be at peace with the ellipses.