The Lucky One

When empty buildings
and falling leaves bring
a shiver of terror,
I will pile up abandoned
pages, photos, letters
and sweep them all away.
Now, those used up states
are markers, ikons
of worlds of deep being,
pathways leading through
this amazing long life.
Old pain and shame,
those longings that spun out
like smoky nothings, I know
were inevitable, predestined,
not to be denied, not for a second.