I CAN'T LEAVE THAT BEHIND

I CAN'T LEAVE THAT BEHIND

I was going through my attic
On a dreary, rainy day
Wondering what I should keep
Deciding what should stay;
When I saw the old trunk
With my childhood inside
And there was dad's R/R cap
He wore before he died.

"I can't leave that behind"
I heard a soft voice say
Then I saw the pitch fork
I used when we made hay;
I saw my Heidi books
As the rain beat on the house
I saw my CGIT uniform
I couldn't leave my blouse.

I walked all inside my home
Trying to make a list
What to take, what to leave
"I love this candy dish;"
My friend Lynda made me
Some things I must take
But what about my bed
On which I love to wake?

The list grew much longer
When I sorted through my life
I used to love that cookbook
When I first was a wife;
I cannot part with pictures
They are all of my past
The scrapbooks may be yellowed
But I will pack them last.

"I can't leave this behind"
It was my daughters toy
And those old baby clothes
Used to fit my boy;
There's nothing in the suitcase
As I sort through my mind
There must be things I can toss
But nothing can I find.

The old house is staying put
And I hurt to say goodbye
All my life is in it
It just makes me cry;
I see my "wedding dress"
And think of ties that bind
I never got to wear it yet
I can't leave THAT behind.......