Stripping Away

I’m working on homes

Where most often

The old oak floors

Are stripped, sealed

And gorgeously refinished

It’s a fun process

To see take place

Painstaking time and energy

Is put into

Pulling out all

Of the old stains

Scratches and wear

Meticulous sanding

Back and forth

The grit getting

Finer and finer

Funny thing

I now understand

That my healing process

Is much like this

It’s not about

Ripping out the old

Putting in the new

Wholesale change

Because the wood

Is rotted out

No

It’s about soul surgery

Going back in

Stripping out

The tumultuous layers

Pain

Shame

Abuse

Fear

Hatred

Each layer taking

Months

No years

To be removed

Welcoming home

The uncovered

Textures and luster

That was lost and stolen

Uncovering beauty

Which in turn

Allows the spirit

To soar

To shine

Like the toothy grin

Of a child

Running wild

On a playground

Feeling joy

As if I was a dog

My owner just got home

From a week away

Stripping away

Exposing the truest

Form of life

RLove

1.12.21