Bonzer Words!: Emptying The Nest
Tony Williams's poem expresses the profound sadness at leaving a treasured home.
Tony writes for Bonzer! magazine. Visit www.bonzer.org.au
The time has come for her to go,
To pause no more, to break the flow
Of twelve thousand morning memories
That queue behind her swollen eyes.
Her children had been far from wrong:
"No longer swift, no longer strong."
"Alone, unsafe, the yard too big."
"A smaller place should do the trick!"
But they, so young, how could they share
This pain, this ache, she had to bear?
Her plants, her life, her soul, her house,
Would now belong to someone else.
She takes a breath and looks around
The empty rooms devoid of sound;
Then quickly, lest she look some more,
Walks straight outside and locks the door.
© Tony Williams
