Missed Flight
An immigrant’s nightmare,
That phone call we dread,
Whether out at a movie,
Or wrapped up in bed.
A quest to go home,
To go book that next flight
No chance for advice,
Or to turn wrongs to right.
Things will be abandoned,
Planning futures so strange,
A last minute trip scheduled,
To a lifetime now changed.
Drop what you’re doing,
Pack up turn the locks,
For the one whom we fly for,
We can’t turn back clocks.
There’s what-ifs and how-comes,
If only they’d stayed,
But hope they were proud,
Of the life that you made.
Things never said to them,
But thought every day,
It’s easy to love one,
Though harder to say.
So much was missed,
During times spent away
But remember those feelings,
That don’t go astray.
The feeling of emptiness,
May one day be filled,
Until then just memories,
And tears that are spilled.
Glasses be raised,
And memories shared,
Good times remembered,
But hearts unrepaired.
Empty Nest
No prom dates, no college,
No first dance with father,
No first tooth-lost smile.
No driving a first car,
No honk of a horn,
No waving from doorways,
No fix of hearts torn.
No time to be grown-up,
No teen angst or cool,
No playing on beaches,
No splashes in pools.
No rides on the schoolbus,
No homework to do,
No sickdays with mom’s care,
No thoughts how time flew.
No footsteps in snowfall,
No running in rain,
No squinting in sunshine,
No escape from the pain.
No hiding, no seeking,
No playing of games,
No flowers, no dolls house,
No more snaps in frames.
No reasons for leaving,
No harm did they cause,
No anger, but sorrow
Just beauty, no flaws.