Life shifts again
Moving me from full time mom
To a life less-occupied
By my six children.

Despite our struggles,
They’ve crossed the bridge at last,
Successful.

Observing myself with
The strangest curiosity,

I find myself,
Crying,
These unsolicited tears,
Unable to shake them,
Unable to tell myself
What I’m going to do next
Now that my major reasons for living
Have graduated
And are moving on.

I see myself,
Standing,
At what appears to be
The end of a trail,
Checking the map,
Pamphlets in hand,
Confused about how I got here,
Looking around
To find a familiar marker.

Hesitantly,
I turn this way,
Then that,
Disoriented and
Suddenly out of sync,
Wondering what happened to
The sea of familiar faces
Who made this journey with me.

But they’ve skipped forward
To other trails,
Excited and laughing,
Focused on everything else
But who they’ve left behind.

Miah too -
There is his marker,
But he’s not here either,
So I stand alone,
Awkward in this forest,
Unprepared for a solo hike.

All is as it should be.
Of course it is.
I made this agreement
Long ago.

06/09/2009

Author's Note: How did it get here so quick?

Posted on 06/09/2009
Copyright © 2025 Alison McKenzie