Going Away
SUNDAY POEM
GOING AWAY
Strolling on the beach with my son
yesterday, sun licking our faces, a sparkling sea
washed over our feet. I breathed a prayer:
Thank you. Thank you for this day.
Fronds of seaweed licked the tidal sands, flickered,
receded–
returned twirling on the next wave.
A little boy, maybe ten years old–freckles,
sandy hair, nose
buried in a melting ice-cream cone–wailed:
My ice-cream is going away! It’s
going away! His mother looked bemused.
Vanilla ice-cream dripped, a bone-white froth
down his fingers. His mouth a jagged sob, face
flushed, furious with refusal.
All month, since I moved from my beloved
home, a ten-year-old in me has wailed:
My home is going away! It’s going away!
Next month, my son, my beautiful baby
boy—six feet tall now, and married to his love—
is going away. A new city will hold him
in its lap. A new home. He’s going
away. No no no no no. They’re all
going away.
This little poem about home is part of a collaborative writing project with Jen Louden, Susan Piver and Mahala Mazerov. My three friends posted their wonderful riffs on Home on their blogs on Friday. I’ve been busy wailing: My home is going away! instead.
Here’s my belated offering.
And, since it’s also Poetry Sunday, please join me by sharing your poems in Comments. Let’s celebrate poetry together.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by HiroBoga, HiroBoga. HiroBoga said: New post, part of a blog flurry on Home w @spiver @jenlouden @luminousheart: Going Away http://bit.ly/dlArSg. [...]
Beautiful Hiro. This brings tears. We all seem to be feeling what’s lost and longed for. I love how you find this in a melting ice cream cone, your six-foot tall baby boy, and your wailing for home.
Much love to you and thank you for being part of this rich collaboration.
Mahala\’s last post … Longing for Home
Mahala, truthfully, I chuckled to myself the entire time I wrote this poem.
The nature of ice-cream is to melt. The nature of things is that they are impermanent. They transform, change shape, change pattern, become something else.
What was once my home has gone away. And all the time I’ve spent mourning it and longing for it, is time during which I’ve gone away from home too. Abandoned it as surely as I imagined myself abandoned. That’s the fun, and the heartbreak of it! :-)
As for my son–it’s time for his own sun to shine in his life. I shared with him the warmth of my sun so his own could take shape and light up the sky of his incarnation. My son is going away. And my life is beckoning me to a deeper, truer relationship with him, with wholeness, and with all that I love.
Hiro Boga\’s last post … Going Away
“The fun, and heartbreak of it.” It’s both isn’t it? I don’t remember the exact quotation, but there’s a quote from the Buddha that says something along the lines of “if you really understood the true nature of how things are, you would turn your head up at the sky and laugh.” I suspect you might cry, too. But laughing wins out over time.
Mahala\’s last post … Longing for Home
[...] helping a friend pack up her home and start moving. This morning I read this lovely poem by Hiro Boga: Going Away and about Jen Louden’s determination to just stay put. The rupture that is moving is on my [...]
Lovely poem Hiro! And what you said in your comment “I shared with him the warmth of my sun so his own could take shape and light up the sky of his incarnation.” That is so beautiful, the true meaning of parenting. I wrote it on a piece of paper and hung it above my desk. Thank you for your words.
Mari\’s last post … Piecing it together and why I love it
[...] Hiro Boga, Jennifer Louden, Mahala Mazerov, and I have taken it upon ourselves to write on the same topic, and publish our work on the same day. This is the second time we’ve done this; the first time, our topic was writing. Today, it is home. Click on their names to read their lovely pieces. It is an honor to co-create with them! [...]
I’m building a tree
to make a home in its leaves
sweet swaying branches
Eleanor\’s last post … Swimming back to Bodh Gaya
I adore your lightness on this going away! I’m reading this army daughters soccer game and cherishing these last years before she goes awwwaaaay. I love learning with you! I hope your new home is starting to feel more like here.
Letting Go
Fingers tight
Knuckles whitening
I will not let you go
I will not let you go
Heart strings
Plucked and Singing
I cannot let you go
I cannot let you go
Eyes glisten
Tears traveling
I must let you go
I must let you go
Breath exhaled
Words Dance in the air
Good-Bye
Good-Bye
Thank you for sharing your lovely poem, hope all are having a glorious day.