untangling the past

held within my hand

the knot of troubles

lies tangled and heavy

like necklaces fallen in a heap

and I cannot breathe

with the pain of it all

and I hold them out to you

and sigh with frustration

and slowly and carefully

you show me how to loosen

the heavy knot

gently lifting each strand

until the tangled knot

begins to unravel

and each strand becomes

plain to see

with careful love

you choose a strand

and working gently

withdraw it from the knot

laying it safely aside

in a velvet box

and turning back to the knot

begin to work on yet another strand

from time to time

impatience fills me

and I yank savagely

at the whole knot

and it tightens once more

and tears of frustration fill my eyes

and fall heavily onto the knot

and you hug me and you smile

and at last I see

that your timing is perfect

and I stop striving

and I watch and wait

and slowly, so slowly

the knot of the past unravels

in your patient hands

and your ever present love

and the velvet box fills

with golden strands

and the knot grows lighter

and I can breathe once more