Only Love Lasts

little plastic pink colored babies, one with wings
mom what are these?
oh those are pro-life things
hmm, really, little one inch plastic babies
thrown in a drawer with old receipts, recipes, faded photos
can i thrown them away?
ok

after years of being clutter in a drawer 
we can finally throw them away
as my mom is down-sizing
really down sizing this time
to move from a large condo
to a small apartment
in a senior building

the things we save 
we think we’ll need
the power invested in palm fronds
that cannot be thrown away
because they are holy
and plastic babies saved
because they are not

an old photo of cub scouts in blackface
which turns into an ugly family fight
over whether or not minstrel shows are racist
about white privilege that my brothers have always had
passed on to them by my parents and my culture
when we are all old and should know better
as we struggle with the changes that life brings upon us
i know now that this privilege brings with it a price 

i never wanted to inherit this mess of stuff
along with the inability to throw things away
a horrible curse a spell that only my daughters have 
been able to break for me
to step into the living 
to care about the experience
to feel my feelings
to throw or give it away
throw it or give it away
only the love lasts