I thought I was used to my children being away from home. My youngest just finished her junior year in college, so all three have been out of the nest for some time. My son, my oldest, moved out shortly after graduating in 2016, but thankfully he’s not too far away. Last spring my oldest daughter graduated, and in the fall, she moved to Philadelphia, aka The Land of Too Too Far Away.  This summer, my youngest has opted to stay in her college town for the summer. It’s less than 2 hours away, but it’s the first time that none of my children will be living at home during the summer. It’s all having a cumulative effect, and I’m feeling a wee bit unmoored and nostalgic.

A city sparrow, spotted in Philadelphia

Philadelphia Sparrow

Sweet city sparrow,
does your heart yearn
for the rolling hills of country?
or are you content
in your pocket of greenery?
has city life transformed you?
what do you do
when your nestlings fly away?

M. Hogan (c) 2017

Philly mural

Grey and Blue

It all seems so grey-grey-grey
a low level grizzly grumble
I’ve got a bad case
of the can’t-help-its
and need someone
to shake out the grumpies
like we did with the kids
when they were small
but now they’re all grown
which makes me feel
blue-blue-blue

©2018 M. Hogan

The latter poem feels unfinished, jagged and irregular to me, but since that’s how I’m feeling (off and on), I’m going to let it ride.

This week’s Poetry Friday Roundup is hosted by Rebecca Herzog at her blog, Sloth Reads. She’s sharing a review of “I’m Just No Good at Rhyming And Other Nonsense For Mischievous Kids and Immature Grown-Ups”, a delightful collection of poems by Chris Harris. Stop by for a sneak peek!