Departure
By Linda A. Copp

It's warm for fall,
the sun drenches the ground
in a lustrous glow of happiness.

I can't help wanting to love
the earth, every star
and every breath it touches.

So, the disappointments
have come and gone.
And today is silhouetted in my mind,
a shadow, a clue of days to come.

It's a dreaming day, a seeming day,
When my heart soars,
soaked in peace of mind, tranquility,
and beckoning the happiness to remain.

Yet, tomorrow
the unpleasant task awaits.
Oh! To avoid it and yet, not to.
Its unpleasantness and uncertainty,
wreaks havoc with the calm.

Yet, three weeks from now
it shall all be over, but what mark, shall it make?
Shall it disturb my pleasure in freedom?

Will freedom become my shackle,
forbid me, some new awakening -
pull me down to what I once was?

Still even in my happiness,
there are questions.
Can it be I shall always, ask,
and ask, and ask?

Look to outdoors
and let the sun warm you,
love you, and tell you,
to take heart,
Be unafraid.

By Linda A. Copp
©September 22, 1971