Downsizing

I am downsizing
cleaning out an old storage unit
where old memories lie in wait
like ghosts locked in a crypt
Ghosts of my past lives hover
having been loosed by my rummaging
None offer any consolation
for the roads not taken
the houses abandoned
They simply linger beside me
watching
I feel their spidery fingers on my spine
I plead with them to let me carry on
I'm sending them to their final resting place
through the jaws of a paper shredder
set on fine.