Take time to cry! What for?
For little boys no more,
Grown men,
Final child.
Nine months I carried him inside
Nine years after he left
his treasures and trophies
remained in the nest.
When is the nest no longer home?
Sophomore year of college?
Before they left all acted out
so we would send them away.
And we did.
Harder,
to finally send them on their way
to new home, job, town:
Maryland, Wisconsin, Vermont,
and soon to Asia.
Twenty miles north of Tomorrow
has finally come.
Pack the boxes once more!
This time they all go on the truck.
I know, I know,
Adults come back to the nest these days
But not these three.
They have strong wings and will fly.
But what joy to visit them,
To be nurtured by them
in their own homes.
Where they welcome us to their worlds.
Take time to cry when you can
Because the time has come.
It’s going to rain.
Now my desk could fit over there
and, yes, new pictures on the wall …