The Circle

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Children leaving is the topic for today. As our youngest son leaves for service abroad I can't help but feel the way I feel when one of our children leaves the nest. That is a sadness that is difficult to put into words. Such is life. The circle remains unbroken.

THE CIRCLE

Our hearts bleed a little more
every time they walk out the door.
Time after time and bit by bit
they leave a little less of themselves behind.
Why must we always say goodbye
and watch them disappear into the sky?
We never thought it would be this way.
We thought they would be with us forever and a day.
We thought they would always be underfoot,
around the corner or up the block.
But they go and then come back
taking a little more of our parents heart.
Then one day they leave for good
leaving us like we knew they would,
leaving behind their little tracks,
empty rooms, and memories.
"Why don’t you stay?
Please don’t leave.
Stay forever in the nest,
in this place of comfort and rest."
But they go as they must
and live their lives without us.
Then one day it is our turn
to leave them behind for the urn.
They will come back as they always do
with a flower a time or two.
It is then they see what we have seen
That in this life
only the circle remains.