Things That Do Not Serve Me - David Roth

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous

When the doctor said I’d need to have it out

He said that it was common, not to worry

But that’s easier said than done, without a doubt

So I nodded while I sat there in denial

And I pondered all the outcomes as he spoke

I could batten down the hatches of resistance

Or I could use this opportunity to grow

Things that do not serve me, things that I don’t need

Things that I am done with and no longer choose to feed

And when I’m on the other side I’ll know that that letting go Of all those things I didn’t need will help me getting whole

There were failures and frustrations that I swallowed

Disappointments and distresses that I held

But the thought of letting all that anger surface

Didn’t seem like it was worth the way it felt

Now it feels like something deep inside my psyche

Has erupted and imploded in my throat

The construction crew is setting up the pylons

Where the pavement’s finally cracking from the load

Of things that do not serve me, things that I don’t need

Things that I am done with and no longer choose to feed

And when I’m on the other side I’ll know that that letting go Of all those things I didn’t need will help me getting whole

Did I make the perfect choices, did I do the best I could

Does holding in contribute to my very highest good?

I release the mighty octopus that smothers and defends

I embrace the golden foamy sea that purifies and cleanses

So they took that little object from my body

They removed the thing that raised up all the flags

But they also got a whole lot more than tissue

Because I packed it full of other things I had

Things that do not serve me, things that I don’t need

Things that I am done with and no longer choose to feed

And when I’m on the other side I’ll know that that letting go Of all those things I didn’t need will help me Getting whole