By Joanne Jagoda
Hold me in your arms just one more time
Let me feel you surround me
Your solidness, your security, my touchstone
You blanketed me for decades
You were always there holding fast
even when the earth shook around us
From your windows I watched golden dawns,
wind-swept trees and pouring rain
I ran down your halls to sick children in the night
and carried little ones back and forth
who wouldn’t fall asleep
singing endless lullabies
You always provided for our family
so many meals cooked in your kitchen,
so many gatherings around the dining room table
You witnessed it all—
the painful moments of real life
You held us in grief and consoled us
when we were inconsolable
You created a homebase for our family
In your quiet ways, rock steady, always there
And now you stand empty, boxes picked up,
Furniture gone, moving truck chugging up the hill
Empty rooms echo in their silence
Perhaps you are bereft too
I’ll say a last good bye dear friend
Hold me in your embrace
one more time
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Joanne Jagoda 