Tragedies Poem by Adrienne Gagne

We are frequently under the false belief that our tragedies must define us.
We envelope ourselves in previous misfortunes
and pretend that by constantly dwelling on the past,
we are dealing.

I like to think of a tragedy as being similar to a track hurdle.
In a race you don’t run straight for the hurdle,
wrap your arms around it,
and refuse to let go.
No, you jump over the flimsy piece of metal.
And after the jump you don’t look back
to make sure the hurdle is still standing.

It will never cross your mind
to ponder the idea of what would have happened
if you had never jumped at all.
Instead, you keep going
and prepare yourself for the next hurdle
with the knowledge that very soon,
the jumps will end and the race will finally be over.

But you’re only completely free if you finish.
As soon as you cross that line
It won’t matter which hurdles you managed to clear
and which ones you knocked over.
Because the past is the past,
the present is a gift
and the future is still many unseen hurdles away.