The clouds, at once, parted and I regained the vision...the vision of happiness.  I remembered who I was and realized where I wanted to be.  After this realization, there was no turning back, no way to pretend again, no intention of pushing ahead.  There was not a clean break.  The past invades my present and blurs my future.  Again I feel the chain yanking at my neck as I venture forward into life, as if I'm a dog...on a leash...in your yard...and I've run out of slack.  But I don't belong to you.

jmv