The bones you buried
underneath the house
it may be best to leave them
where they lie
the attic
that's another story
worth delving into
sometimes treasures hide
in those dark corners where
you've stored forgotten
remnants of your former self
the tokens of
your former lives

Mostly though it's boxes
waiting for some future move
but there's also the dollhouse
your grown daughters loved
when they were kids
and grandma's china
deemed too delicate
for table fare
the winter jackets put away
in some forgotten spring
and never brought back out

Then there's the subtler stuff
regrets, remorse
the childhood fears
long set aside
but never loaded
on the trailer
carted to the dump

When finally you crawl
into that narrow space
you see that everywhere
rats have been busy
gnawing holes and making
an ungodly mess
It's time to clean it out
to it leave it empty
as when you first moved in
it's never pleasant work
but once it's done
you find that somehow
it's gotten a shade easier
to move on