"Welcoming The New Ones"

In honor or National Poetry Month, I have been posting new work by myself every Friday (previously here, here, and here).
This is the last Friday of April, and I present "Welcoming The New Ones."


Welcoming The New Ones

You packed what you could, all you could carry.
What you left behind is gone.
Exodus, an ebbing—
cry if you want, but keep moving.
It’s gone for good.

Our names are written in the ground,
in the sky, visible from any point.
What you know, you can’t unknow.

The young people circle you, eager
to help, to steady, to guide.
The old people surround you,
extend their hands to touch,
cover, you feel wafer-thin, porous
as you transmit where you’ve been,
what you’ve done, what you’ve lost.
You’re done now. You can relax,
settle in, find a spot. You’re
going to be here a while.

© JEF 2014