(For our daughter, Valerie, at Eighteen)

you always had
a later clock than me
now it’s official
with you in B.C.
and me here, in Ontario
wondering
and you out west, wandering
growing
seeking your answers
living in your own zone

so lit up you were
in your bedroom, mapping out the route
for the plotted departure,long-dreamt of
with your friends
for a full year ahead, anticipation

were you trying to prepare us both
for the split? For the changes?
The polarization of your new
coastal life?

I hope we’ll find distance
can be ditched as a barrier
discarded by love

will time let us catch up
as I keep your memory
locked tight in my heart?
Nothing to wipe out
the most precious cache

each day I saw you
approaching the Trans-Canada
longing to conquer
you wouldn’t relent

in a way you’d already gone
but never completely

it takes more than geography
to separate hearts

04/15/1999

Posted on 10/11/2004
Copyright © 2025 Maureen Glaude