Snags in the Closet of Your Mind

 Snagged

I see you ...

barring the closet door shut 

with all your might, 

your breath heavy 

and your knuckles white with effort.

 I see you , 

leaning against the door

with a quiet determination, 

a perfect image in the finest fashion, 

forcing a smile for normalcy's sake.

I see you ...

tensing up,

squeezing your eyes shut

whenever you open that door 

just enough 

to pull things out,

or push things in.

I see you,

assuming no one is watching,

wince in pain, 

as you pull back 

your bloody limbs and torn sleeves

from the insides of that closet.

I see you...

pull the tattered sleeve

over the scars you now bear

after pushing  the unpleasant down

away from view and

 before reaching again  "out here" 

for more pleasant things 

to store "in there."

I see you,

 collecting,

stuffing and storing.

So much you collect,

so much you stuff inside...

both the ugly and the beautiful.

I see you,

turning away from what is inside.

You dare not 

view the contents of your collection

in fear of what  you will see

if you open the door. 

I see you,

trembling to be free

of the heaviness inside,

not seeing a way through.

I know it is frightening,

but open the door wide 

and look inside.

The answer is inside.

Look inside.

Can you see ....

how the once empty and pure space,

once bright and well illuminated,

is now darkened

by a  tangled mess of knots 

made by these snags?

Can you see...

 Threads of all different 

colours and textures,

plucked, and snapped, 

pulled or snipped  

from the garments 

Life has given you to wear

hanging awkwardly and messily inside.

Can you see...

how these snags

obscure the  hungry splinters 

that impatiently wait 

to pierce your clothing

and scratch the skin beneath

whenever you blindly reach in

to push down or to pull out. 

Can you see...

there is a way to stop the pain

that comes with reaching and stuffing?

Can you see...

you are so much more than this cluster

of loose threads, snagged  over time,

on  the rough splinters that line

the closet of your mind? 

I understand your fear

and your desire to protect 

both the fine garments and your flesh 

but

... can you see that

your attempt to protect and preserve

that which is meaningless

is what is causing you your suffering? 

The snags are only there 

to catch your attention...

recognize them,

honor them. 

The more you cut yourself off 

 the more rips and tears 

you will make in the outer surface,

the more menacing and determined

 these splinters become, 

the more they will snag,

and  the more messy and dark 

the insides

of this space will be? 

Can't you see....

that the material

you cling to is not you...

you are simply the wearer of it?

Let it unravel if it must.

Open the closet door wide.

Push past the threaded fragments 

to see a second door 

hidden in the  back

behind the mess you made

of your mind,

a door that has always been there,

waiting for you to discover it. 

Open that small door too,

to allow the experience of Life to enter. 

Create a pathway 

for breeze and light 

to flow through.

Let it blow right through you.

Stand there and watch 

as the light exposes

what needs to be exposed

and as the breeze

smoothes each splinter, 

lifts and carries away 

each tiny knotted thread

until there is no more there

to obscure your vision. 

Release and let go 

of all that held you back.

Purify this mental closet

once and for all.

Embrace the healing freedom 

purification offers.

Then when the room is empty of all

but light and space,

allow yourself to fall back

through the second door

into all that is. 

Refuse to be snagged

any more.

© Dale-Lyn (Pen), February, 2024