Garden of Leaving

I saw the beauty of the harbor

And the stillness of the water

I wondered if our daughter could also see it

You were howling in the corner

While the doctor asked us questions

The name we chose is all you kept repeating

The drive home was unbearable

The baby seat held nothing but a feeling

Our greatest joy had come into the world

The same day she would leave it

My eyes became a window

You were looking through for comfort

Like an animal in winter seeking shelter

When we pulled into the driveway

Of the home we built together

It felt so far away from the plans that we conceived

The door cried when it opened

And every wall sounded like it was grieving

An echo in the darkness said you're home

In the garden of leaving

As the lights began to flicker

Only briefly apparent

The time between each flash became a mirror

And standing in the kitchen

With a hundred miles between us

Wondering if we'd ever try again

Will I ever lose this part of me?

Is it circumstance or irony repeating?

Knowing we were born and forced to stay

In the garden of leaving