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Casting the Burden
David William Paley
The trees grow bare but bud new green;
If snows do fall they melt in spring;
The birds migrate to come again;
But sorrow will not fly and lingers.
Too long encumbered by your presence
No more are you my welcome guest
But one who heeds no hint to take his leave
And prolongs his stay to make me grieve.
You have eaten all the stores I had
So pack your bags and go from here;
Melt my heart from barren slate
And let me breathe a world less grey!
Enough! There is no pleasure
When you stand so firmly there;
Take your baggage from my home
And banish this tiresome monochrome.
Now that I have used up all my strength
I have no wish to extend your tenure.
My broken wing has healed again
And the time has come to fly from here
To 'light upon some perch aloft
Where I may find a place to sing
And leave behind those winter snows
To go where the wind of spring now blows.
Farewell, you leaden weight!
I slip that burden from my shoulders
And sink it firmly below my feet.
Who are you to bear me down?
A friend you were for one short time
But then the enemy of all I know.
So let there now be no more doubt-
Live elsewhere. I cast you out.
© David William Paley
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