Leaving Home Should Always Be This Way Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

leaving home should always be this way,
as if in a fairy tale you start out
and it is summer clear summer o!

with the roses spilling over the low walls
lining the lanes and in your basket
a cake of butter, some rolls, the

morning news; a guide on
what to do should you get lost;
a raincoat, maybe two for when

a bird will come in a flash to
warn you, the bridge has
washed away, the way back

doesn't exist; did you?
someday you may wonder.
watching the slow moon rise and

wonder is the key;
the something to say
about the angels at your

feet and head
before you slip into
the invisibility cloak

of all cloaks
because, after all,
it is the Invisible that

is your friend
all other friends
having been lost

in the Flood.

mary angela douglas 20 december 2015