Let Not The Shades Of The Past Poem by Edward Clapham

Let not the shades of the past haunt
the corporeal present, nor shape
what might become; instead
lay them to rest in some quiet grave,
there to dissolve amongst the wriggling
worms and grow a flower'd bush whose
scent fills the air and invites in the future.
Turn the inner voice to sweeter things,
To possibility and the excitement of
Novelty, with all its attendant fears
Subdued by the eager inner tension
Of anticipation, the alluring prospect
Of love, fulfilment of suppressed dreams,
The past but preparation for now.