Battle of the Past

A philosophical narrative poem concerning the past, present, and future, and how you can choose whether to remember or forget your past.

There is a battle going on within my heart.

There is war being waged within my soul.

Two sides, two armies, each fighting for a certain cause.

Causes that conflict with each other.

For you see, within my mind there are two options.

I can either forget the past, or remember it.

If I forget it, then maybe I will be stronger,

for not having to make myself remember the trauma

that I have lived in my past.

But then again, if I forget it, maybe I will be weaker,

for not having lived that trauma.

Maybe that trauma made me who I am today.

So, maybe, if I keep remembering it,

I will be stronger that way.

It is a slippery slope, really.

Either way, the fight is not over yet.

Either way, there is a war to be fought.

I believe that this war lives on within all of us.

That it is a common human experience.

We all have a past.

Many of us have a bad past.

A horrible...horrible past.

And so we must have a battle within us

to decide whether or not it makes us stronger.

I do not like having to go down this path.

To this fork in the road,

and have to pick one way or the other.

To go down one twisted, spiraling road

and not know whether or not I will be able

to find my way back.

This is a spiritual decision, but not spiritual

as in religious spiritual.

No, this is different.

This is much more personal.

This is something that is unique.

Everyone has their own story.

Everyone. Has. Their. Own. Story.

This is something inside of us.

Emotion.

Depth.

Understanding.

 This is something deep and dark,

that gives us chills and makes us question ourselves.

Who am I?

Who do I want to be?

Why am I here?

Why should I be here?

These are all questions brought on by the past,

and the battle which takes place because of it.

But I hate to let our past interrupt our present,

as I also hate to let our present,

which will soon be our past,

interrupt our future.

In reality, the future isn’t real.

All that we know is the past and the present.

We understand that when we stop talking

and start thinking.

We are always in the present,

we reminisce of the past,

and, for some reason,

we concern ourselves to much with the “future”.

You must make a choice.

At some point, you must end the battle.

You must choose whether to forget and escape your past,

or remember it and embrace it.

You can pick which parts to remember,

and which parts to forget.

You can choose what will make you stronger,

and what will make you weaker.

It is your decision.

You are the master of the battle of the past,

even if you don’t seem to be the master of your present.

You can control your own past,

at least when it comes to your mind.

You just have to focus.

Breathe in.

Breath out.

You are the master of the battle of the past.

Author's Note

I am open to any kind of criticism, harsh or otherwise. If you have any questions about this poem, any of my other ones, or one about me in general, feel free to ask.