(A kyrielle)
I had not planned that Friday night
To socialize after the show
But one chance question shone a light
On leaving and the letting go.
What do you want? He softly said
As if he really cared to know.
I answered cradling my head,
The leaving and the letting go.
Then I will pray for you right now
He said, To have the grace to grow
In trusting in this deep desire
For leaving and the letting go.
A silence fell around us, drenched
In grief, the ugly undertow
Of all the years of fists tight clenched
At leaving and the letting go.
An hour passed, the wave was done
And I was ready now to throw
My lot with every wayward son
In leaving and the letting go.
Some choices need the steady love
Of those who know us best, and so
Our friends become the midwives of
Our leaving and the letting go.
Penguin Poems 