Years back, when my oldest daughter was preparing to head off
to college, her older brother having moved out two weeks earlier, I felt the
aching pain that gnaws at a mother’s innards as she watches her children leave
the nest. The day we did the last
of my daughter’s packing, I fought hard to choke back the lump in my throat
that made simple thoughts near impossible without taking involuntary strolls
down memory lane. Those had me
struggling to hold it together emotionally as I helped one of my best friends,
my daughter, prepare to begin her new life.
By the end of that night, I felt an emotional war had waged
within me, me being the loser.
Being a writer, I did the only thing I could. I took pen to paper and scribed the following poem in a feeble
attempt to logically map out the hailstorm of emotions I was feeling.
Perhaps one or more of you have gone through similar
situations. Felt the same
heartache that rips and shreds your insides, pitting your mind upon itself. Whether you have or haven’t, I hope you
enjoy this poem.
New Beginnings
So little time…
Grains of sand fall through an
hourglass
Load after load of trash bags
carried out
“Old school papers,” she says, as I choke back a sob.
We circle one another
Mindful lest our paths cross.
Minimal contact
Circling…circling…circling….
Don’t recall the past
Go numb
Secure the floodgates
Don’t crumble.
Hundreds of miles still lie ahead
Hold it together.
Boxes, bags and piles of clothes
Empty hangers
An organized closet.
There’s a crack in the emotional
dam
Oh, God!
Go numb
Shut the brain down
Can’t!
Twenty-four hours left
Two weeks ago, a full house
Now, one room empty
Another soon to follow.
Half gone
One last “Gilmore Girls’” road trip
To signal…new beginnings.
No comments:
Post a Comment