I Keep The Past in Boxes

I keep the past in boxes
On differing levels.
Those that caused me the most pain
Are heavily chained and padlocked
At the bottom of the dungeon
Down 7 times 7 flights of stairs.
"Not a place you'd like to visit."
Heavily chained, immovable.
Only when someone from the Upper World rattles their chains in an unsuspecting way can the Black Snake rear his ugly head.
But then of course you have to smite him decidedly and swiftly
Because like Lazarus
You need to rise again
To fight another day.