Interlude: Two Sides of the Story

Photo by Randy Jacob

Old Me would be appalled at New Me,
while New Me is also appalled at Old Me.
Within myself, I hold two sides of the story.

I understand both,
while trying to escape one,
while trying to help you
understand the other.

It’s like being bilingual…
fluently flipping back and forth
between two languages I know how to speak,
but preferring one…

and it’s not my mother tongue.

It would be easier if I could forget:
Cut ties.
Burn bridges.

But then, it would also be LOSS.

A part of myself…
the part that made me,
the part that brought me here,

I still need it.

My story is incomplete
— out of context —
without it.

There can be no forgetting, then.
Nothing to cut or burn.

Instead, I’ll be many versions.

Many selves.
Many evolutions.
Many combinations.

Attempting to accept
and integrate
them all
is part of my story too.

Old Me, New Me: All Me.

With more “Me”s yet to come.