To College or War

TO COLLEGE OR WAR

My daughter is off to college today,
it's almost like going to war.
Trunks are filled, bags are packed,
the house is feeling smaller already.
I think this is a good thing,
even a great thing,
but the thought of my baby being gone
is a bitter pill to swallow.
Posters off the wall, books carefully packed away,
Disney characters stare back at me,
wondering where their owner has gone.
Harrodsburg, Danville and into the heart of Lancaster.
Thistles, Joe Pye Weed, Crepe Myrtle, Ironweed and Goldenrod,
bloom along the way.
A cliff lined with limestone,
blasted away to make room for these asphalt roads.
Paint Lick Elementary School in Cartersville -
Highway 954.
Yellow tobacco waiting to be cut,
and creek beds drying with rocks peeking up their heads on each side.
Cattails sway in the breeze as we follow a truck containing
a Crucifixion cross like a scene from "Mad Max."
Madison County, East 21,
Berea,
my God, we're almost there.
Blondies's Ice Cream Parlor and the Circle K,
and our honeymoon spot - the Holiday Motel.
Berea College approaches,
the time is finally here.
I know it is not a good-bye,
just an, "I'll see you later,"
but why does it feel like forever?

~~August 21, 2010