Is this redemption—
or just a reckoning?
Rewinding choices,
reeling in thoughts,
permutations and combinations
of what once was,
what could still be…

Preparing to cast away
years of daily rituals,
the comfort of routine,
as high tides rise,
crashing against the hollow
beneath my ribs.

Is this release—
or another kind of weight?
Should it needs to be embraced—
or must it be braced?