Look Ahead: Boston Marathon 2016

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us

Setting aside the weight of that which

Holds us back

Looking ahead toward the finish

Striving to move beyond morbid fixation

What happened then cannot be undone

Nor should it be forgotten

But as each runner who bounds forward knows

You cannot run your best

Looking over your shoulder

How long can we carry a heavy burden

Before we decide to lay it down

To leave it by the side of the road

Along with the memories of faded crosses

Wilted flowers

Sodden trinkets of bitterness

How long is long enough to look back

At what happened?