Stepping Away

 

Step by step,

The tethers of a mundane world 

Release.

A lifetime’s career

Ends piece by piece;

Leaves falling from a tree

That’s sheltered and held me safe.

 

When at last the guests

Have left the party,

The room now quiet,

It’s time to clean the house

And reminisce.

A sadness of leaving,

Yet the silence welcome.

 

It’s a new time,

A time to rest,

And be restless;

A time to explore new pathways,

Look at life anew.

Nothing to do

But trust;

New life emerging,

New spring leaves,

Another round of guests

To welcome and embrace.

 

There’s tenderness and loss,

Like losing the familiar store,

The one across the street,

Where they knew your name.

 

But it comes,

The end of the career,

(Hard to even write it).

So much life gone,

All memories now,

Good ones and hard as well.

Settling in to a new land,

One without paths.

Like cresting a hill to find

Only fog,

No view ahead.

 

So step slowly,

Softly,

Listen,

There will be guides,

All in time.

 

Allow the healing,

Honor the pain,

Welcome the loss,

The gift of endings,

For more will come

In their own good time.

 

Practice letting the wheel turn free,

Look around

For life teems everywhere.

Be grateful for this breath,

Be kind,

And honor the guides.