Chips Of Old Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

Those cold shoulders bearing chips of old.
Unable to let go,
Of a shown molding fixed to grips...
They stubbornly hold.
Stay stuck in ruts refusing to give up,
A thick frost remaining frozen...
In their minds to a time,
Left behind by others.
To have long gone and done to thaw.
Leaving jaws once tightened,
Capable to address...
An occasional warm expression.
And maybe unexpected.
By another still affected.
With a dwelling in their mind,
A reason to find...
Something done in one's past,
Time to dig up and give it more gas.

"I remember what you did.
When we both were elementary school kids.
And I'm not forgetting it either.
Not as long as I live."

-That's cool with me.
Stay as you are with that on your mind.
I have learned to unpack,
The weight of childish nonsense off my back.
Too much of that and other crap,
Kept my mind trapped seeking validation...
For the comfort of ignorance.
I grew to depend upon.-

"Oh?
So now you're calling me ignorant? "

-No.
I could not or would do that.
But I will admit,
Recognizing it...
Has become easier for me to do.-