HOW TO LEAVE YOU?

Smeared tears awoke me

From restless sleep today

Bitter it is to contemplate

This unwished for going away.

Ribbons of our brief moments

Snap apart with no sound

I'm in quiet when I'm with you

I don't fight for my own ground

This place is a blue oasis

Where I newly reside

It offers a warm belonging

With no reason to hide

The churning chasms in me

All become calm pools

I have no need to use

Voice and words as my tools

This quiet is not empty

Seeking a quick end

It's a tapestry of longing

-a special woven blend

I depart from you today

With a gift of silent blessing

My heart turns away to weep

As it is John I will be missing.

(C)Heidi Black 2007.  Used by permission.

Written at the end of John's annual Oregon retreat, November 2007.

Photo - courtesy of Helen Worley.  

John walking on the beach at Oregon House, 2007.