and though we try our very best
to let the past
lie where it should. . .
remembering would still come
in waves, in hoards, when you least expect them

a multitude of years' worth of 
memories, tears, pain, laughter, hope, despair
and a collection of other emotions in between
would be impossible to hide
in the far corners of your mind
no matter how hard you push and pull and sit on the lid
a few still manage to escape
from time to time

like a long lost friend
they can comfort you
like a warm blanket in the cold
they can embrace you in their warmth
or like a nemesis you cower from
they can haunt you, make you tremble in fear

the past, how ever poignant,
how ever bitter, how ever sweet,
no matter what it is to us,
we can never out run. . .
the sooner we accept that,
the sooner we heal. . .

we can never forget. . .

we should never forget. . .

if we do we never learn