Empty Nest Poem by Jim Yerman

Our children left the nest long ago…
It's amazing how fast the years have gone by
but I don't feel our nest has ever been empty…
and here's my simple reason why:

I've always risen early…before the alarm starts beeping
before the sun pokes through the window…
while my family was still sleeping.

It's a wonderful time…the morning…
because as the day rubs the night from its eyes…it seems
sitting alone…in the solitude…I could hear my family's dreams.

Today I still wake early
(Old habits are hard to break)
And though I no longer hear them dreaming…
as a walk through the house I make

I find the house is anything but quiet…
for on mornings such as these
the dreams that I once listened to…
have been replaced with memories.

It's a wonderful thing…the morning
because as the day rubs the night from its eyes
You never know what memory
will rise up and come floating by…

And so I know this nest will never be empty…
no matter what time or what year…
because a nest can never be empty
as long as their memories still live here.